Gods Among Women
by Asura Boss
Summary: Four of the Infinity Stones have been found and secured, but two still remain out of reach of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. So when the fifth gem, the Soul Stone, is discovered on the planet of Remnant, the two heroic teams must race against each other and against the natives of the planet to acquire the Stone before someone else can.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, what's this? A new chapter of Thorns? A new RWBY fluff fic? No! It's Gods Among Women, my latest story, and one I hope to have succeed Thorns of a Rose as my next big story!**

 **In this story, Team RWBY discovers a rune detailing the location of a sacred, powerful stone that is said to amplify the soul-based abilities of those who wield it. Meanwhile, the Infinity Stone, or the Soul Stone, has been discovered as well by the Avengers and the Nova Corps, who also race to find it and acquire it. But they aren't the only ones after the Soul Stone.**

 **I hope to have this become Thorns' successor, so I hope you guys enjoy it, and after that, go ahead and jump right into it!**

 **p.s. Undertones of Freezerburn because that is my RWBY OTP, and you may notice that The Hulk is in this story, too. I realize he disappears after AOU, but in this continuum Hulk is still an Avenger and Pietro/Quicksilver does not die. Other than that, I have nothing else to say.**

 _Infinity Stones each have their own unique powers, and exist in many corners of the universe. The Avengers have acquired the Mind Stone, a powerful, sentient stone with the ability to control the very thoughts of any mortal, courtesy of the Vision, on planet Earth. The Tesseract, an infinite power source once in the hands of the Nazi regime, now lies in the hands of Asgard, thanks to Thor. The Aether, a destructive, symbiotic stone with multiple forms, is now held by the Collector, in Knowhere. The Orb is in the safe hands of the Nova Corps, thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy._

 _There are six stones, but very few know where they are and fewer still have the ability to wield them. Some believe one is floating in the vacuum of space, protected by a black hole from which nothing escapes. And the other..._

 _Well, not many have been found for the sole reason that they never_ should _be found. But there are always people who find them regardless of this._

 _On the planet of Remnant, the Soul Stone has rested for millennia, untouched by the dangerous and murderous hands of the feared Thanos. The Soul Stone, within its hidden resting place, grants the inhabitants of its home the power to use Semblances and Aura. Some on Remnant know of a legendary gem that, when wielded, grants the user an exponential increase in the power of their own soul. But not many have found it, and fewer still could hope to touch it._

 _But in this prophecy, many believe that with fame and fortune and the infinite power that comes with the Stone, misfortune and ruin follow soon behind..._

"Now, class, we must remain vigilante here," Professor Goodwitch blathered on as she always did whenever there was exploring to be done, waving her riding crop about like a wand, "Be careful! This temple is heavily laden with traps. Use your eyes well in this temple. Only you will see the trap before you fall for it."

Yang sighed. She hated it when the professors did this.

She wandered into a separate room, following her teammates more or less, but not with any given direction. She was just winging it.

"This place is weird," Yang heard Blake say, and Yang looked over at her.

"Why?"

"I feel like I'm passively using my Semblance. Don't you? Every time I wave my hand, it leaves behind my afterimage."

Yang shrugged. Her Semblance was passive anyway; she wouldn't know the difference.

"One more thing, class!" Goodwitch announced, and all eyes were on her, "You may notice that some of your Semblances are active without your urging. This temple has been known to grant increased power to those who use their Semblances. Be careful; you may destroy the building if you are not."

The class split up and Yang joined her team, her gauntlets unfolding just in case any Grimm wound up arriving.

Goodwitch had taken the class on a field trip to a temple in some secluded part of Mistral's jungles called the Soul Peak. The temple located there had supposedly been one of the first constructed by Remnants, and Doctor Oobleck chose to come along for the knowledge possibly contained in the temple itself.

As fascinating as it wasn't, Yang found herself watching Blake with amusement as she kept peeking over her shoulder, watching her own afterimage travel behind her. It was like she was a living blur.

Ruby, however, could not be seen. She was so fast, even slow walking seemed like a jog for her. She, like Blake, was a blur, but in fast forward instead of slow motion.

" _HeyYang_ ," Ruby blurted, sounding higher-pitched, her speech sped up tenfold, " _CanyouunderstandwhatI'msayingrightnow_?"

"Wh-what?" Yang stuttered, surprised by her sister's unnaturally quick talking.

" _MySemblanceiscrazyfastrightnow_!" Ruby blinked out of existence for a split second before reappearing in front of Yang again. " _Didyouseethat_? _IbetyoudidnotseethatI'mwaytoofast_! _Ormaybeyou'reinslowmotion_! _Everybodyisreallyslowtomerightnow_!"

Yang let her sister "walk" away as her nonsensical babbling became too fast for anyone to hear, and she began to explore.

"So let me get this straight, Tony. You found the location of another Infinity Stone on another planet, and you want _us_ to go get it?"

Agent Clint Barton looked out the window for a moment before looking back at the multi-billionaire.

"If we can get this, it will show whatever has been giving me these nightmares that we Avengers are not to be taken lightly, and that Earth will not be destroyed by some megalomaniac in a metal suit," Tony Stark replied with a tone of urgency in his voice.

"Right," Hawkeye replied cynically, "Right, because a megalomaniac in a metal suit is just what we need to fight another megalomaniac in a metal suit."

Stark thought for a second, realizing he had walked right into a verbal trap.

"I'm not kidding, Stark," Clint added, pointing a finger outside the tower window, "Every time you get involved, _this_ —" the archer gestured to the entirety of New York City, "—Gets put in danger!"

"If I don't get involved and we don't grab that Stone before it's too late, more than THIS is going to be in danger," Tony argued, looking toward the stars of the night sky, or, more specifically, in the direction of the planet on which he detected the Infinity Stone's energy signature.

"Something is out there," the Iron Man continued, making a hand gesture for Friday, his latest AI assistant, to bring up his telescope, "And we've seen its hand in everything we have fought. Cap saw it with HYDRA. So did my father. Thor saw it with the Aether, with the dark elves. I saw it with Ultron. Something is out there, and it wants the Stones."

Stark positioned the telescope toward the planet several hundred lightyears away, a planet very similar to Earth, a planet that was some remnant of a once massive solar system, now the only planet in the whole system still intact. He chose to name it Remnant.

"If you won't help me, then I'll do this myself," Stark said, turning to the apt archer and giving him a look of great need, "But for the sake of my conscience I cannot just stand here with my thumb up my ass watching some celestial madman destroy everything I've worked so hard to protect."

Clint stood completely still, just watching the Iron Avenger with a mask of indifference before nodding.

"You're right. The Stone needs to be secured. But how do we get to it? You said that planet was fifty thousand lightyears away. If I'm not mistaken, it would take us a few thousand years to get there."

Stark smiled. "Remember that generator that Loki used to set up the Chitauri invasion?"

Clint shot him a look. "You aren't saying..."

"You're right, I'm not saying that," Tony gestured to a window behind Clint, and it lit up with a diagram of something that looked very similar to a Chitauri warship, but with more...Iron Man.

"What is that?" Clint inspected the diagram closely, unable to comprehend the terms used in the blueprint.

"That...is our key to getting to Remnant," Stark grinned with his "ha-ha-I-made-this-and-you-didn't" smile and slapped Clint on the back, "That thing uses a copy of the generator to create a portal that will open up at the coordinates I put into it."

"So...hyperspeed?" Clint wondered in amazement.

"More like a warp drive," Tony said, "Sorry, Clint, but Star Trek is a little bit more attainable for me than Star Wars." The multibillionaire walked back toward the tower balcony entrance, still facing Clint.

"I'll have Friday call up the others," Tony said finally, Clint still standing and watching the diagram as the mechanist spoke, "It's time the Avengers assemble again."

"Groot! You can have at it with my flower pot later! I've got a call from Nova Corps!"

The tree man sighed as Peter Quill rushed past him and into the communication room of the Milano, the signature ship of Starlord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Whose name, coincidentally, was also Peter Quill.

Quill hit the "accept call" button on the screen, and a bust of the Nova Corps commander began to hover above the holotable.

"Hello?" Peter greeted the woman less than formally.

"Starlord, thank the stars you picked up your communicator," the commander seemed relieved that he was there, but Peter Quill refused to let it be known he was too chicken to pick up a phone call that wasn't technically a phone call.

"Well, I, uh, have a track record for picking up every single call I get," Peter smiled awkwardly at the woman.

"If possible, I need you and your fellow Guardians to come to our command building within the next few hours," the commander stated blandly, "We have a mission we would like you to undertake for us."

"If we gettin' paid, then you get the goods!" The cyborg raccoon named Rocket shouted from another room, and Quill sighed.

"We will negotiate compensation when you arrive," Nova Prime finished, "We will see you when you arrive."

The holotable switched off, and Peter sighed. At least something eventful could be happening soon, considering nothing had happened in the months since Ronan the Accuser's downfall.

"Alright, everybody!" Starlord descended the stepladder into the hull of the ship, finding Gamora, Drax and Rocket inside. Groot was upstairs, but leaning down into the hole to hear his leader.

"We are heading to Xandar to talk to the Nova Corps. They have a job for us. We'll talk about payment later. Everybody get ready to go, because we'll be there in an hour."

The rest of the team nodded their replies and Starlord climbed back up the ladder and headed to the cockpit, where he seated himself at the controls and activated the hyperdrive, coordinates pointing toward Xandar.

"So, have you found anything, ice queen?" Yang wondered, peeking over Weiss's shoulder.

"No," Weiss scowled, turning to Yang and surprising the blonde with her eyes. Her irises contained small glyphs, with minute and hour hands rotating around her dilated dot of a pupil, "But I may be onto something here."

"Weiss, your eyes..."

"Are glyphs? Yes, I know. My skin is marked with them right now. Once we leave the temple, they'll go away. Your eyes are red, by the way."

Yang lifted an eyebrow. Must be her Semblance _was_ acting up in here, after all.

"So what is it you found?" Yang wondered, surprised her eyes could be red even without her temper flaring.

"I think I found an old scripture. Right here," Weiss ran a finger along a line of text and read something out loud. "Says here that "the gem of souls grants he who wields it great power, but beware, for there are those who would wish to wield it but yet do not hold the power they yet seek. For them, destruction is their end." Ominous, but interesting."

"I kinda wanna find this gem," Yang said with a greedy smile, "Think we can find it?"

"Puh- _leeaaaase_. With my brains and your brawn, we can do anything!" Weiss laughed triumphantly. Yang chuckled with her; she didn't really know what it was, but something about Weiss's evil laugh was weirdly...cute...

Yang shook the thoughts out of her head. This was Weiss she was thinking about, not some egotistical seductress!

"It'll be in the center of the temple. No other way it might make sense. Let's go," Weiss commanded her blonde friend, and the two set off in search of the gem.


	2. The Soul Stone

**Hey, guys. Bad news, for me at least. My wifi is getting cut tomorrow since my mom won't pay for it anymore. As a result, I'm gonna have to be a lot more sparing in my postings, as I am now running off of my parents' hotspots.**

 **this also means, sadly, that I won't be able to watch new RWBY episodes on Sundays like I have been. I have to wait until they're out on YouTube. Thankfully, however, I now no longer have social media to distract me and spoil the new episodes, which I think is a plus.**

 **Also, as for the stories themselves, the website is being a little weird. It won't let me add line breaks, which is really messing with the flow of the stories. Other than those two things, I think I'm fine. I fixed the Starlord ship thing and updated the first chapter so the ship's name is now the Milano. Other than those things, I have nothing else to say, so feel free to enjoy this chapter of Gods Among Women!**

 **P.S. I did not intend to sound sexist when I made the title of this story, it's just exactly that: a convenient title. No more, no less, so please don't get offended.**

"I do not like that feeling at all, Tony," Bruce Banner turned to his friend and fellow scientist, warning the man of the very close encounter everyone on the ship almost had with "the other guy."

Stark, of course, being the pragmatic and confident man he was, knew that the sensation of passing through the portal wouldn't be enough to break Bruce's hold on Hulk, and smiled as the massive planet loomed in front of their very eyes as they left the portal behind.

"My God..." Bruce whispered, staring in disbelief, clearly not recognizing the giant rock before his very eyes.

"Stark, you—"

Tony looked at the Captain as he walked into the cockpit and his jaw dropped to the floor. The soldier had never seen other planets before—he wasn't even awake when the U.S. first landed on the moon; this must be an amazing way to start off.

"Hey, Cap," the philanthropist wandered to the large window at the front of the cockpit and turned his back to the planet, arms outstretched, "Welcome to Remnant, our Jurassic, inhabited cousin."

"Actually, sir," the feminine, young-sounding AI known as Friday corrected with cheer, "Whatever you saw from a telescope of this planet was actually light from over sixty million years ago, finally being received by your retina after the light bounced off millions of years ago. I am picking up radio transmissions and even encrypted chatter from the northern hemisphere of the planet. This planet is inhabited by hominids, just like Earth!"

Captain Rogers shot Stark a look that said, "You just got told," and the multibillionaire inventor chuckled.

"Thank you for that information, Friday," Tony said as the ship drew slowly nearer to the atmosphere, "Now, get the three Veronica satellites prepped for launch. I don't know I'll need the Big One, but I need to be prepared, just in case."

"Did you bring those along...for me?" Bruce wondered suspiciously, to which Tony replied, "No, not really. Honestly, I wanted to fight dinosaurs. Looks like those aren't here anymore, so I'll have to settle for something else. Those pods ready, Friday?"

"Yes, sir. Launch them now?"

"That'd be nice, yes."

"Launching satellites!"

A moment later, three large pods about four times the size of trucks appeared around the ship, positioning themselves automatically in the atmosphere and priming for launching parts when the Iron Man needed them.

"Alright, everybody buckle in," Stark said, turning to the control panels operated by the Friday AI and sitting crosslegged in a chair in front of them, "We're coming into the atmosphere."

The ship began to shake and rock, the turbulence somewhat forcing the behemoth to fall off balance in midair, but it righted itself soon enough, and the ship floated evenly among the clouds, high above the true surface of the planet. Tony smiled to himself.

"Friday, thank you for making modifications to the ship design. A modified SHIELD Helicarrier is exactly what we needed."

"You're welcome, sir!" Friday cheerfully replied, "I am at your service when you need me!"

He stood back up and wandered to the door out of the bridge, then descended the elevator there and entered the sealed hangar, where the other Avengers waited.

"Well, we've arrived all in one piece," Tony bragged, the airlock opening to show the expansive ocean of clouds around the Quincarrier, and continued, saying, "I've also made sure we arrived in just hours, when we should have arrived a millenium from now. You're welcome."

"So who's the landing party?" Hawkeye asked in boredom, cleaning his bow.

"Just Stark and Thor for now," Captain Rogers answered the question with authority, knowing some might like to tag along against the plan, "We need our two fastest guys down there."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Quicksilver held up his hands in mock betrayal.

"The two fastest flyers. No offense, Pietro."

"What about me? Or Vision?" Sam Wilson, the Falcon, asked.

"We need somebody to bail out the others in case Thor can't handle it himself or Stark makes one of the locals angry."

Wilson nodded understandingly and fell quiet.

"Stark and Thor will fly down and try to track down the Infinity Stone. We already have the building we need, thanks to Doctor Banner. Should there be an altercation—and as long as Stark is with us, there will be..."

Tony rolled his eyes but knew it was true; he was a troublemaker and he was damn proud of it.

"We will deploy myself, Agent Romanoff, Clint, and Sam to handle the situation. Wanda, Pietro, Banner, and Vision will stay on the ship until it's time to go or we need your help. Any questions?"

No response came, so the Captain continued.

"Alright. Avengers, move out!"

"That Rael lady rubs me the wrong way," Rocket made no attempt to lower his voice as the group of Guardians walked back to the ship.

"Rocket, everything rubs you the wrong way," Peter replied, stepping into his ship and heading to the cockpit.

"Hey, that's only half true and you know it!"

Irani Rael, the current Nova Prime, had just explained to the group what their mission was: acquire the Infinity Stone from a planet in another galaxy altogether. Because it needed to be in another galaxy, Peter had explained that his ship just could not handle going that far. The Nova Prime had a new warp drive installed in the Milano, and now it was ready to take the trip.

"Do you believe they will protect the Stone, Peter Quill?" Gamora asked, sliding into the co-pilot seat and showing off a serious expression.

"God, I hope so. They did pretty well with the Orb, but this one might just help decide what the Nova Corps will do with all that power."

Priming the engines as the ship lifted from the landing pad, Quill shot a glance at Gamora, donning a serious expression simultaneously.

"Drax, Rocket, when we get there, be prepared to kick some ass, 'cause whatever this planet is, it has to be dangerous if somebody chose it of all places to put the Stone. Got it?"

"Got it!" Rocket echoed.

"I understand completely, though I am not sure I understand what an "ass" is, nor why I would be kicking it," Drax mused aloud, and Quill sighed.

"Metaphor, dude."

"Ah, yes. Metaphor. Is the ass, however, a small, defenseless creature? I find no honor in attacking a defenseless creature."

The ship reached the stratosphere, where Quill set the ship's coordinates and stood up, stretching.

"In this case, buddy, the ass would be somebody's backside. The part they sit on."

"Oh. Then Gamora has a very attractive ass."

Quill didn't need to look to see the daggers Gamora was glaring into Drax's head.

"Uh...Drax-man? Don't say those kinds of things."

"Why? It is a compliment. I believe she has a very attractive ass."

Quill rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long trip.

The clearly-insulted Gamora huffed and strutted away, ironically showing off that which Drax had exactly been talking about—not really noticing when Drax and Quill both snuck subtle looks at her rump—and disappeared.

"Why does she react so negatively? I mentioned something I would find to be positive." Drax wondered curiously, not understanding the anger Gamora had just displayed.

"Women are weird creatures," Quill sighed, returning to the pilot seat and looking out the cockpit as it went to warp speed, "I'll just leave it at that."

"Hmm." Drax grunted, settling himself into his own seat, "I can agree with that."

The rest of the trip remained largely uneventful, granting everybody the much-needed mental preparation time needed before the mission began.

"I can feel it. It's getting stronger."

Weiss pointed this out despite Yang already knowing what she was talking about. The deeper they went into the temple, the stronger the pulsating waves became.

Of course, it was an odd feeling; alien, even. She couldn't sense it with touch, sight, hearing...she could feel it with her soul. And it beckoned to her, called her name in the back of her mind. But, yet, it was not her name that was being called, but she knew it was hers all the same. Strange, like a sixth sense. She didn't know her soul could feel anything.

"It's near. I can tell, it's...here!"

Weiss turned to a wall and set a hand against it. Yang raised an eyebrow, but could not deny that she too felt its proximity to her. But the problem with the wall was that it was a wall.

"Is there some hidden door?" Yang wondered, secretly wanting one to appear somewhere. It would be so cool to see one!

"No, of course not!" Weiss looked at Yang as if she were a fool, eyes squinting and scoffing, "Are you daft? This isn't some action adventure story! We will likely need to knock the wall down."

"Oh," Yang said, momentarily disappointed before perking back up at the thought that she was gonna punch something so hard it would shatter, "How are we gonna break it?"

"Simple: I use my Semblance to create a glyph to harness the energy of the gem, and when you stand on it, it should grant you and your projectiles the strength to break the wall down. Understand?"

Yang nodded, cracking her knuckles. "Let's do it."

Weiss flicked two fingers and the glyph appeared beneath Yang's feet, glowing red and resembling a massive snowflake before suddenly shifting into the form of a train wheel. The shape of a gear formed in the center, and suddenly Yang felt a surge of power that almost felt like too much, and she felt the urge to expel it. She looked at the wall and reared back, moving to punch it, and swung at it.

Her fist connected and a shell launched, and before she knew it, the wall no longer existed in the shape of a wall and looked more like the result of a pile of bricks being hit by a tornado made of fire. Charred stone lay all across the floor, and before her was a set of stairs descending into the temple. Strange amber-colored light illuminated the base of the steps, and it was also weirdly enticing.

"C'mon, let's go!" Weiss rushed past, headed rapidly down the steps, and Yang trailed her friend down the stairway.

At the bottom, the pair encountered a small, circular chamber, lit only by a pedestal at the center, radiating golden light from its spire.

This was it, Yang knew, this is the legendary gem!

"Oh, Dust," Weiss said, stepping slowly toward the gemstone, "It's beautiful..."

Weiss reached toward it, but a sudden sense of alertness and danger overwhelmed Yang, and she reached toward Weiss.

"Weiss, _no_!" She cried, but by the time the words left her lips, it was too late.

Weiss's fingertips brushed against the surface of the stone, and then she was screaming at a higher pitch than Yang could ever imagine, and at an amplified volume that filled the chamber with echoes of itself. Orange-glowing cracks appeared across Weiss's skin, and light poured from her eyes and mouth.

" _Weiss_!"

In a hasty attempt to save her friend's life, Yang gripped Weiss's hand as tight as she possibly could and immediately regretted it.

The power. The raw, unbridled power. She could feel it. And she didn't like how it felt.

Even as it crawled up into her body, into her core, she resisted its power. Her body shook, tore itself apart, ripped every atom to shreds, but she forced herself to get a hold on Weiss, and in one final, desperate attempt to save them both, threw herself atop the heiress and separated her from the gemstone.

Darkness surrounded them. The only sounds were Yang's labored breathing and Weiss's gasping, ragged sobs of pain. The larger girl rolled off the smaller, coughing and finding it incredibly difficult to breathe for the first time in a long time. Despite this, she got onto all fours and set herself above Weiss, putting a hand on the exhausted heiress's cheek and talking through her excessive panting.

"Weiss...Weiss...! Weiss...wake up...! Are you okay...?!" Yang's trembling voice could not hold steady, her throat sore and dry. She must have been screaming, too. "Weiss!"

The white-haired girl managed to open her unscarred eye, but that took a monumental effort. "Y-y-yeah...I'm alive..."

Yang couldn't help herself from picking her friend up and hugging her closely, fully realizing she could have lost Weiss to this stupid rock. She also really, really needed to hug someone right now.

"I...I can't see..." Weiss rasped, "My eye...my eye is too blurry..."

Yang laid her against the wall in a sitting position and took a few deep breaths, letting her shaking resolve itself, and pulling out her Scroll. She hit the button and waved it in front of Weiss's eyes, but her scarred eye remained shut. Ruby and Blake would be on the way to help soon, too.

"Can you see this?"

"Just...just...barely..." Weiss replied, "My other eye...it hurts...I can't to open it..."

"Just rest," Yang ordered softly and rose to her feet, her whole body sore. She looked toward the gemstone.

It now glowed faintly, its rough, jagged shape an orange hue, but the center was bright as a miniature star. It beckoned to her still, but she knew better. She didn't dare touch it lest it destroy her this time.

"This stone...this is too dangerous," Yang huffed, gauntlet unfolding over one fist, "It needs to be destroyed."

She lifted her fist over her head, trying to muster the strength to smash it. She looked back at her friend, coughing and struggling to maintain even her breathing. She couldn't let this happen to anybody, not even a Fanger.

Or worse, let somebody who could withstand it utilize its power.

Yang brought her fist down, feeling a newfound strength coursing through her muscles, and nearly connected with the stone...

And then she was hitting the wall, but she felt no pain and no strain on her body.

She opened her eyes and watched as a humanoid figure made of red and gold metal and glowing blue eyes walked in and drew a small container. It held a hand out and the stone levitated above the pedestal before it transferred itself into the container. The machine began to ascend the stairs.

"No!" Yang cried, but she instead rushed to Weiss's side.

"Just...go..." Weiss hacked, "I'll be fine...don't let him have it..."

Yang nodded and rushed to the stairs, but not before taking one last look at the heiress and rushing after the metal man.


	3. Fight for the Stone

**Hey, guys! My mom was nice enough to turn on her hotspot so I could post, so I figured I would take advantage of that opportunity and put this up and a chapter of Sleep Is Better! I'm sorry to say that I haven't had much time to work on Thorns—I mean, it's been a year since I made that story, but I've got nary a chapter to show for it for three weeks—but I've been trying nonetheless.**

 **Now, I absolutely had to write a fight scene from Iron Man's POV. Something about mech suits and robot POVs makes them so fun to write. And the things I've imagined Iron Man can do in that suit of his...makes me sigh that I probably can't see it onscreen ever.**

 **Also, Thor. He's in this chapter, too. (In case you cannot tell, I really, really like Iron Man.)**

 **So, other than those announcements, I've got nothing else, so feel free to sit back, relax, and enjoy this chapter of Gods Among Women!**

 **P.S. I have no idea if the line breaks will work this time, so bear with me.**

 _Just minutes earlier..._

"There it is, Thor," Tony said as he and the God circled the air around the temple, "Our destination."

"Strange that it is this easy," the wielder of the legendary Mjollnir replied, "Perhaps it is a mistake in my memory, but I could have sworn I had met a woman here and sired a child, though I never watched over it. That should say men and women would live upon this world, but yet none inhabit this section or stand watch over the most dangerous stone in this branch of the Life Tree."

"I dunno about that one, big guy," Stark replied, his suit automatically scanning the temple, "I'm picking up a few dozen lifeforms inside. Some are getting very close to our Stone."

"Then let's not delay. We must make haste before someone is destroyed by the Stone or someone arrives to claim it."

"Good plan," Stark replied, and he flew around the temple and landed at the entrance, but not before spotting something large and metallic. "Friday, what do you make of that thing?"

"Unknown class of airship, sir," Friday answered as she analyzed the metal behemoths near the entrance, "They seem to be made of a combination of titanium and stainless steel. Titanium is incredibly common on this planet. The gunships are armed with Gatling guns and rockets, and are powered using energy crystals in the turbines. Top speed estimated to be somewhere between one hundred and two hundred miles per hour, sir."

"Shit. I don't think my battery is gonna last that long if I have to outrun it. Thor, mind keeping an eye out?"

"If I must, but be sure not to make contact with the crystal. I do not believe anyone weaker than an Asgardian can wield the Stone and survive."

"Thanks for the heads up, big guy," Tony waved at the extraterrestrial and entered the temple.

"Lifeforms detected within the temple, sir!" Friday reported urgently, "All of them are armed with ballistic weaponry or melee weaponry, all of it steel and titanium. Be careful, sir."

Stark chuckled. "You know, I thought I was gonna miss having Jarvis, but you, Friday, are making me rethink that."

"Thank you, sir!" Friday replied cheerfully, and the Iron Man continued into the temple.

He discovered a set of stairs and continued deeper, climbing down more and more steps the deeper he went, thankful that the temple was open, for the most part, so he wasn't being attacked unexpectedly, but the sun was reaching the second half of its arc in the sky. Sunset was coming rapidly.

"Energy spike detected, sir! It matches the Infinity Stone's signature!" Friday exclaimed, and Stark rushed down the stairs and looked to the left. A wall, or the remains of one, now lay in rubble. He rushed to it and looked into the hidden stairwell.

"Energy spike fading, sir. Two lifeforms within, both female. Armed and dangerous. I would advise not killing them. Repulsion tech, sir?"

"Arm it," Stark said, slowly walking down the steps and finding a chamber at the bottom.

In the center of the chamber was a small pedestal, and on it rested the Infinity Stone. Beside it was a tall, busty blonde girl, lifting a fist up to smash it down on the Stone.

Reacting quickly, Tony flicked his hands around and released a weak concussion blast from his palms, hitting the girl with raw force and sending her sprawling. He approached the gem as the girl hit the floor and drew the small glass case he would use to contain the stone, then used a centralized electromagnetic field to place the gem in the container without making contact with it. He shut the thing and turned to walk up the stairs in a hurry.

"Thor, time to go, I got the Stone," Stark spoke into the helmet communicator and ran to the top of the steps, "Meet you back at the ship."

Reaching the top of the steps, the armored Avenger walked back into the room and began firing up his jets when he heard a voice behind him.

" _No! You can't take that gem!_ "

Tony whirled and spotted the blonde girl standing there again, but now her eyes glowed an unnatural red color. The two yellow bracelets on her wrists had been replaced by gauntlets with gun barrels above the wrists. Her messy nest of hair seemed to be smoldering.

"I'm here to take it so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Tony replied, but the young woman shook her head.

"If you take that, it'll destroy you!" She got into a boxing position, lifting her fists in front of her, "I won't let you take it!"

She swung a punch at him and the gauntlet launched a glowing, screaming projectile that smashed into the torso of the suit and exploded. Tony was thrown back, and he dropped the Infinity Stone as his metal greaves scraped across the floor.

"You don't know what you're doing, _missy_ ," Stark said, rising back to his feet and looking through the dust he generated, "I don't want to start my body count on this planet with someone like you. Get out of my way before we have a problem."

"You already _got_ one."

The pugilist loosed several more rounds, forcing Stark to lift an arm and deploy the shield installed in the forearm before the rounds hit. He was sent flying this time and smashed through a pillar before sailing through the open side of the temple.

"Friday, all power to thrusters and repulsors! Get us back up there now before she destroys the Stone!"

"Yes, sir!" Friday said, and the thrusters activated. Stark swooped down and then flew up, then twisted to face the temple again. He boosted in a beeline straight toward his assailant, who was now holding the container the Stone was in. He swung his legs forward and sent a pulse to the thrusters as he delivered a powerful two-legged kick into her chest, blasting her across the room and leaving the Stone behind.

" _Hey_!"

Tony whipped around to see a girl clad in mostly white with black leggings and a black bow on her head dashing at him, with a katana and a machete in each hand. He held up a hand and fired a repulsor blast at her, only to have it phase right through her.

"What the— _Ow_!"

The girl was next to him now! She just hit him in the side of the head with the machete, surprising him. He turned and fired again, but he hit another illusion and felt the familiar vibration of the suit's armor being hit with a bullet from behind. He whipped around and almost fired, but hesitated. Was this another illusion?

"Ruby, _now_!"

Stark turned and spotted yet another girl, this one barely fifteen years old, swinging a gigantic scythe at him, the weighted end of the blade faced toward him, and he couldn't react fast enough to avoid being hit in the side of the head with the massive weight. He tumbled away and scrabbled to get a handhold before he tumbled over the edge.

"Sir, the suit's integrity is at seventy-five percent!" Friday reported earnestly.

"Seventy five? _Already_?" Stark shook his head. How were three teenage girls beating him so easily?

He stood back up and faced his two latest assailants. The one apparently known as Ruby watched him with intense silver eyes and she stood with a stance that said she knew what she was doing and knew it. She blinked out of existence for a moment before reappearing again, with the Infinity Stone container in hand.

"Whatisthisthing?" The girl blurted too quickly to be easily understood.

"That's an Infinity Stone," Stark warned with an edge in his voice, "And if you don't give it to me, it could destroy us all."

"Fat chance," Ruby said, suddenly slowing down, "I won't let some masked baddie get ahold of something that could kill everybody on Remnant."

"I'm not a bad guy! I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to protect us!"

Suddenly, the blonde reappeared, walking through the hole in the wall, but now it seemed she wasn't worried for the sake of the Stone.

She was pissed, and the look in her red eye could only be seen one other place: in the eye of the Incredible Hulk as he went on a rampage.

"Yang, who is he?"

Blake asked the question as she and Ruby stood on either side of the brawler, whose Semblance just kicked in.

"Don't know, don't care. We can't let him get ahold of the Infinity Stone or we're all in danger."

The metal man sighed and held up a hand, the circle in his palm glowing bright blue. "Fine. I wish it didn't come to this, but I suppose I haven't got a choice."

He fired the laser from his palm and nearly hit Ruby, but the rosy reaper was too fast and she disappeared into rose petals before reappearing with the a Crescent Rose swinging at him. He boosted upward to jump over it and landed behind her, but when he stood up and scanned around, Yang charged him.

Swinging a fist him, she fully expected him to catch it, which he did. She swung the other fist and he caught that one, too.

"I will not let you endanger this planet!" Yang snarled through gritted teeth, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Stone pulse with energy. Yang felt a sudden surge of power, a surge of strength, and she pushed harder. The metal man was probably surprised beneath that mask, and he pushed harder, too, but Yang could feel her strength exponentially increasing until she pulled one fist away, yelled a battle cry, and sent the fist smashing into the armored assailant's chest.

He didn't stand a chance. He launched from the temple, causing a sonic boom to erupt from him as he rocketed across the sky.

"Holy...Dust, Yang, you hit him _hard_!" Ruby gawked at her sister, and Yang turned to her. She still carried the Stone.

"Give me the Stone!" Yang took it from her sibling and smashed the container on the ground, freeing the gem. She then bided up all of her strength, lifted her fist, and forced it down on the Infinity Stone as hard as she possibly could.

The all-too-familiar agony of the atoms making up her being shredding themselves apart overwhelmed her, and she fell to her knees in anguish.

"Yang!" Blake cried, but Yang shook her head, no matter how much effort it took, and held up a hand.

"No!" Yang said in a voice comprising of a symphony's multitude of different tones, like a dozen people speaking the same words simultaneously. She didn't want Blake to die with her. She knew this was her sacrifice and hers alone.

The hand on her shoulder told her that she was ignored, and suddenly the pain lessened, until she was just breathing heavily, lying on her back on the floor with somebody kneeling next to her.

Weiss. It was Weiss, and her hand was clasped with Yang's. Together, they held the Infinity Stone.

"We can't destroy the gem, Yang," Weiss said, her scarred eye still held shut, "It isn't possible. But we can protect it. We need to stop that man from obtaining the stone."

"Then let's do it!" Ruby folded the Crescent Rose into rifle form nearby and hefted it to her shoulder, cranking off several shots in the direction of the armored aviator, who was now flying again at a high velocity toward them.

"Cap!" Tony practically yelled into the microphone in his suit's helmet as he sailed through the valley and smashed into a hill. "Steve, I need some backup!"

"What's wrong?" Captain America asked with urgency, and Stark knew he was getting ready to depart the ship.

"A group of kids beat us to the Stone," Stark replied, peeling himself from the dirt, "They're highly trained and they're armed to the teeth, and two of them already found the Stone first!"

"Clint, Natasha and I will be down soon. Try to get the stone or stall them, or something. Just don't do nothing."

"Hadn't planned on it." The Iron Man huffed in determined rage. "Friday, how're we doing on the Mark XIII?"

"We've sustained pretty heavy damage in the upper torso, sir," Friday answered in a serious matter, "That girl hit us with the force of a bullet train at max velocity, and then some. I think it's the Stone causing it; it's empowering them to protect itself!"

"Then I need the Mark XIIII down here if she's hitting with that much force. Last time I saw somebody punch like that, it was a giant muscular pea with anger issues."

"Veronica's still adjusting, sir! That girl gets a boost in strength and endurance the more and the harder you hit her, as well. You may need to try for containing her, but I don't advise getting close!"

"She's got those gauntlets. I just need to be faster until Veronica can get me a leg up. How's our power doing?"

"We're still going strong. Ninety six percent. The new battery's doing wonders."

"Good. I need you to divert all power to the thrusters, then when we get close enough to transfer it to the arm and leg hydraulics. Got it?"

"Yes, sir! What about Thor?"

"He'll join in soon enough. He always takes a minute."

The suit's thrusters fired up and Stark rocketed off, nearly reaching the speed of sound again as he rapidly closed on the temple, and the sniper firing rounds at him from afar. One clinked off the side of his helmet.

"She's a good shot!" Tony said to himself, but it wouldn't help her. He drew close enough, within twenty feet and closing fast, and he spun himself around and delivered a kick to the girl's chest...

...except he didn't. He completely missed the target who was right there less than a split second ago. She just blinked out of existence and the next thing he knew he was smashing through the wall.

"What the hell was that?!" Stark clambered to his feet again, "She was right there!"

"Sir, she looks like she has made it to the same levels of speed that Pietro Maximoff can reach."

"Jesus _Christ_ , what the hell are these kids?!"

"Sir, they all emanate a similar energy wavelength to that of the Infinity Stone. It's possible that the stone is giving them their power or already has for some time."

"Ah, hell." Tony flew out of the tunnel and landed feet down on the floor, surrounded by the four girls, the two he had attacked in the chamber now standing side to side. The shorter one held a sword in her left hand and held the Stone in her right. Her left eye was closed and scarred.

"Alright, listen, girls," Stark said, glancing between each of the four of the differently-themed teenagers, "We started off on the wrong foot, but we can make up, right?"

"You're not getting the Stone," the scarred one snapped, raising her rapier toward him, "Not over my dead body."

"I'd rather your body not start being that way today," Tony commented, then lifted a hand and pointed to the gemstone in the white one's hand. "That is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. I've come to claim it in the purpose of protecting it."

"We're already doing that, _jackass_ ," the blonde snarled. Her fists were clenched.

"Don't make this mistake. _Please_. If I don't get the Stone, somebody else will, and they, unlike me, _will_ get it over your dead body. I will protect it, I promise."

"Given the way you tried taking it before, it doesn't work out so well for anybody but you," Blondie growled at Tony, fists primed for punching.

"If anybody else gets that Stone, we're all dead meat. Please, give me the Infinity Stone before I have to take it by force."

"Go _fuck_ yourself," Blondie hissed and stepped in front of her counterpart.

"Fine. Friday, how's the Mark XIIII?"

"It can't get to your location, but Veronica's ready. You've got enough parts for six suits, sir."

"Have that ready in case I need it. Thor, you there?"

"As I have been, metal man," the God of Thunder spoke through the radio.

"Mind helping me out down here? I've got a couple of girls who've got the Stone."

"I am on my way."

The radio cut out, and Tony lifted his hands, his repulsors charging. "So, you want to dance? Let's dance."

"Gladly!" Blondie roared a battlecry and fired one of her gauntlets by swinging a punch at him. Using his repulsors, he dodged to the side and avoided the attack, then fired his jets and repulsors back to propel himself forward. He swung a punch at her. His metal gauntlet connected with her forehead and sent her tumbling with a loud _KLANG_!

"Sir, her energy output is building again!"

"I'll be quick! Don't worry about it!" Stark turned on the other girl, who stood defiantly in the position a fencer might and held the Stone in her offhand. He dashed at her and fired his repulsors, but with a flick of her fingers a strange glowing glyph appeared beneath her feet and began to rotate at high speed. She sidestepped the beam and dashed at him...without moving her feet.

The sword came very close to striking his face, but glanced off the armor and did no harm, but she was fast—too fast. He fired his repulsors again but missed and whipped around to see her.

"Shit!" Tony cried as Blondie's fist smashed into his faceplate.

He slammed into the floor and created a small canal where he smashed through the floor and slid a dozen or so feet. He shook his head and looked up at Blondie, whose eyes were now red. The scarred girl stood directly in front of him, at the end of the canal. Rapier leveled at him, lightning charging the blade. A revolver-like cylinder inside the hilt spun and turned blue, and she aimed the blade at him.

"You shouldn't have tried for the Stone," she said, and she fired a bolt of lighting from her sword.

It would have been enough to fry his systems...and his body. But it never hit.

"What the...?"

"I strongly advise you relinquish the Stone, mortals..." The voice was like thunder itself, just like that which its owner commanded. He stood proudly above the fallen philanthropist, wielding the legendary Mjollnir in his hand. "Or you face the wrath of an Asgardian."

"Yeah? You and what army?" Blondie challenged the Asgardian, pumping her gauntlets and priming a round into each one.

"I need not an army to defeat four mortals," Thor began to swing his hammer about in a circular fashion, creating a reverberating sound not unlike a helicopter propeller. "I myself have defeated armies before."

"We will not let you have this Stone, or we will die," the white-haired fencer looked down at the Stone in her hand, "We'll all die."

"We can protect it."

"Stop telling me lies!" Fencer snapped, "I have seen visions! You and your allies show up, and with you bring the destruction of our world! I will not stand idly by and let you destroy our home!"

Glyphs began to hover around her as the Stone began to glow, and they again began to rotate, albeit at an insanely high speed. She made a gesture not unlike a conductor directing a symphony and sent the saw-like glyphs careening toward the God and the armored Avenger.

Thor roared and threw Mjollnir, shattering a couple of the glyphs before sailing into the fencer's shoulder. With a loud, booming noise, she was sent flying and became separated from the Stone.

"Weiss!" Blondie cried, ignoring the hammer as it returned to its owner and her eyes diverting to the fallen girl—Weiss.

The Stone, however, was left completely unprotected as it careened through the air and into the hands of a small, brunette-haired girl in a skirt.

"Weiss!"

Ruby watched in horror as the hammer smashed into her partner's shoulder and she heard a loud crack accompanying the boom. Yang rushed to her side, but Ruby could see the blood seeping through Weiss's clothes. That hammer...that hammer broke right through her Aura and hurt her, badly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby's attention was snagged by a glowing orange object, and she looked up. The Stone! Weiss had let go of the Stone!

Ruby reached up and held her hand out for the gem, and it slid into her hand gently. She closed her fingers around it...

And everything became still.

Power surged through her. It was a feeling similar to when she used her Semblance for the first time. A rush, her muscles burning faintly, her heart pounding and her skin heating up.

It wasn't fire—as she stepped, her skin burned hotter for a moment before cooling again and her muscles distended uncomfortably. She was moving so fast, even her own body couldn't keep up!

She walked over to Weiss and knelt beside Yang, whose face was a statue of horror and despair. Weiss's shoulder wound, upon close inspection, was a fracture or a break, but she was still bleeding, or rather, seemed like she was bleeding. In this state, Ruby could see that everything was completely and utterly still. Even the high-speed hammer was rigid—it was just outside its owner's reach, suspended in motion.

The reaper walked over to the man and inspected him closely. He wore odd, ornamental armor with chainmail over most of his body and black pants. His torso was covered in circular plates of steel. Two of these plates held a red cape that seemed mid-flap before it froze. He was blond and rough-chinned, like he had forgotten to shave this morning.

If it weren't for the fact he just severely injured her best friend, she'd have assumed he was a nice guy; he looked like one, with a gentle, easy face and an attractive smile. But he did injure her best friend and he was focused only on the Stone, and for that, he would have to be defeated.

Unfolding the Crescent Rose, which was still normal speed for her because her soul was projected into it and was affected by her speed increase, she spun around at even higher speed, feeling her skin burn the whole time, and slammed the flat end of the her Rosy into the man's gut. He gave a little, but remained suspended—he wouldn't move until she released her hold on time or whatever she was currently doing with her Semblance.

Just to test it out, she let her mental hold on the stone go, and time returned to its normal state...with spectacular results.

The thunderous man smashed through the wall behind him with a loud grunt, then disappeared into the valley beyond. Ruby must have hit him harder than even she had expected!

"Weiss!" Yang whimpered behind Ruby, "Are you okay?! Please, tell me you're okay!"

Weiss grumbled something inaudible, but then went silent again. Ruby turned her attention to the armored man. Or tried to; he was gone.

"Where'd that iron man go?" Ruby looked about, not daring to release her hold on the Stone lest it be taken from her. She turned her rifle from scythe form and aimed through the scope, the magnification adjusting to help her search.

"Surprise!"

Ruby yelped as the armored assailant suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lifted his hands at her, firing his laser at her simultaneously and sending her sprawling. The Stone flew from her hand and disappeared from her vision.

"You don't know what this Infinity Stone can do," the attacker said, sauntering toward her menacingly, "You cannot hope to protect it against the threat that is coming to claim it. It will kill you, kill your friends, kill this entire damn planet to get what it wants. Don't make me take it from you. I am giving you one last chance to hand it over and let us protect it."

Did he still think she had the Stone? Ruby was about to correct him and tell him she wasn't sure where it was now when she realized it could work to her advantage.

She stood up and made a fist, then cupped her other hand around it. She held both hands against her body, facing away from him.

"No. I won't let you have it."

"So be it."

The man walked even faster at her and grabbed her shoulder, then spun her around violently. She just grinned up at him and opened her hands, splaying her fingers to show she no longer possessed the Stone.

"What?" The attacker looked about frantically, searching for the Stone. "Where is it?!"

"Right here!"

Ruby threw herself aside just in time for Blake to reappear from the shadows behind her, swinging her katana and machete in a spinning whirlwind of steel. The Stone was in her hand.

The Iron Man fired his laser again, but he fired at an afterimage; Blake was behind him. She drew the blade of her machete across the back of his helmet, and he whirled and fired a beam from his palm in response. Blake wasn't there, however; she was now above him, slashing his shoulders in the midst of a vaulting maneuver.

Ruby watched as Blake's afterimage faded and reappeared in places she never crossed, and the Iron Man attacked every single one, but not the Faunus herself. She was everywhere, but yet nowhere, and as far as the Iron Man knew, he was being attacked by a group instead of one person and her illusionary copies.

Ruby scrambled to her feet rushed to Yang and Weiss as Blake occupied the armored man. Weiss was held in a sitting position by Yang, who looked significantly worried for the injured girl. Blood was leaking onto Yang's skin from Weiss's injured shoulder, but the fluid was unnatural. It wasn't simply red; her blood had a golden sheen as light reflected off the surface of the liquid.

"How is she?" Ruby asked, inspecting the strangely-colored wound.

"I-I-I don't know. I was never trained in medical aid. Never took the class."

Ruby was about to berate her sister for not attending a possibly essential class when Weiss's golden blood began to glow, and suddenly, the wound was gone. If it weren't for the golden bloodstains, Ruby wouldn't have known that Weiss was injured.

Her Aura. Her Aura had been boosted by the Stone. Her Aura was only supposed to be able to heal minor wounds; now she just mended a broken bone without assistance.

Weiss opened her good eye and looked around, surprising Yang and Ruby in the unaffected fluidity of the motion. "Where am I?" Then, quickly after, she looked at Yang and sternly interrogated her with a "Where is the Stone?!"

"Blake has it!" Ruby answered, standing back up, "Stay back, let yourself heal. Blake and I will take care of that guy!"

Ruby sprung forward, Crescent Rose drawn, and swung the scythe at the Iron Man.

"Blake, duck!"

Blake spotted the weapon and dropped into an acrobatic position with her knees and hands placed against the floor, literally bending over backwards to clear the way for the scythe as it cleaved through the air and connected with the assaulting armorer again. With a clanging noise not unlike a truck connecting with another truck, the man was sent flying once again, this time toward the ground.

Ruby helped her friend up, commending her for the good work fighting the man off nearly singlehandedly, and politely asked for the Stone, which was in Blake's hand. The cat nodded and handed it to the team leader.

"What is that thing?" Blake asked, sheathing both blades.

"This is...that armor dude called it an Infinity Stone. Claimed that it was really powerful. He seemed to think he needed to protect it."

"Yeah, because attacking a group of four innocent girls who did nothing to him is protecting a glowing rock," Yang piped in with a cynical criticism.

"That's not just a rock, Yang, and you know it," Weiss breathed, standing up with the blonde's help, "That is an Infinity Stone. It showed me a vision while I was unconscious downstairs."

The four teammates came together at the spot near the edge of the building, focusing on Weiss.

"Continue," Blake ordered the heiress.

"The vision I saw," Weiss shut her eye and massaged her temples, concentrating on the memory of her vision, "I saw this...this ship, a big, red, boat-looking airship in the sky. It showed me the inside of a little dome on the bottom half; the Stone is inside, as well as those men that attacked us. They're with...they're with a group of people and machines, but...something's wrong. They're watching a man, a very, very large man with magenta skin and wearing golden armor. He's smiling, and he holds up his hand, with a gauntlet made of gold, and...and an Infinity Stone embedded in each knuckle. He has four of them."

Weiss was using sheer willpower to keep herself from breaking down; whatever she was seeing must have shaken her to her core.

"He...he has the fifth. That one's the Soul Stone, ours, and he...he begins to rain fire down on Remnant, and...and..."

Weiss opened her eye again with a solemn expression on her face. "He destroys our world. Whoever he is, he will destroy our world if he gets ahold of the Stone."

"Then we won't let him get it," Ruby replied, twisting the bolt on her rifle to release and chamber a new round.

"It isn't as simple as that," Weiss stated, now covering her scarred eye with one hand, "He is too powerful. This...this knowledge I got from the Stone is telling me he isn't even from this planet. Neither is that armored man or his friend, and more will come. They will take the Stone if they can. We can't let them. If we fail to protect this Stone, then all is lost."

Blake's ear twitched beneath her bow. "Professor Goodwitch is calling for the students to return to the transport."

"Good. Maybe we'll find a bit of a break on the ride back," Ruby sighed, then the team began to walk back to the transport, keeping weary eyes and ears out for the two men who assaulted them and keeping very close watch on the Stone at all times.


	4. Factions Combined

**Hi, guys! Sorry about he irregular postings, I just don't have access to wifi to post that often anymore. I'm really sorry!**

 **So how about that finale, huh? Thank god I was not planning on setting this story after the events of Volume 3, because holy crap.**

 **Anyway, here's this chapter. I liked writing this chapter. It was interesting trying to find a way the Avengers and the Guardians could interact, and trying to depict Starlord accurately was a fun challenge. But enough about that. Enjoy this chapter of Gods Among Women!**

"You lost the Stone to a group of teenage girls."

Tony rolled his eyes as Cap repeated the sentence for the dozenth time in twenty minutes.

"You lost it...to a group of teenagers."

"In his defense, Captain," Thor interjected, "These girls are unlike those we have ever seen. They all had what your scientists would call mutant powers. One of them grew in strength as his assault continued, another used magic, and the third moved at high enough speed that not even I could see her."

"And you did not see that coming?" Pietro Maximoff chuckled, appearing in the chair beside him, his hands behind his head and his feet propped on the table. The Asgardian shot him a dirty look.

"Pietro is right. I sent you two down there because I thought you were both prepared."

"You know what, Captain Rogers?" Stark stood up and smashed his palms on the tabletop indignantly, "We haven't even figured out how to fight foot fairy over here, let alone how to fight a girl who moves just as fast, if not faster, than he can! I can't fight somebody who is on every side of me at once, and without using the Mark XIIII, I won't be able to fight the blonde one!"

"There were four."

"The last one is a mage of some sort," Thor explained, "I remember being to this planet before, in my younger years. I even had a woman here, but she did not hold my attention long, and I left. I remember, however, that many of this planet's warriors are known to be capable of expanding their souls and using it to protect and heal themselves, and grant themselves unnatural abilities.

"On this planet, aptly named Remnant—"

Tony chuckled quietly, pointlessly proud of his guessing skills.

"The natives call it an Aura, the field around their body that is the physical representation of their soul, and a Semblance, their abilities granted by their Aura."

"You had a woman here, Thor?"

"Yes," Thor replied, "I believe I may have sired a child with her, but this is when I was brash and ignorant of all but myself and my glory, so I never discovered this to be true. But that is beside my point. The Stone is what granted the residents of this world their soul-based powers. It amplifies them for those who wield it."

"So as long as they hold the Stone, they get more powerful?" Clint summarized.

"Not only that, but it seems they become invincible until the Stone is out of their grasp. I broke the mage's shoulder with my hammer, but it only broke after she released the Stone. The tallest one, the "blonde" as Stark called her, was impervious to the onslaught and was gaining power from his attacks."

Captain Rogers sighed in thought, then began to pace back and forth. "We need a better plan than simply attacking. It's worked before, but it won't work now."

"Pardon my interruption, sirs," Friday interjected from a speaker in the ceiling, "But I'm detecting the energy signature of another ship entering the atmosphere."

"Hostile?" Tony asked, preparing to run for his armor.

"I'm not sure. It has a design that's alien to the scanners, but there are lifeforms aboard."

"They're here for the Stone," Natasha spoke for the first time since Thor and Tony had returned to the ship, "No other reason another ship might arrive here."

"Let's just watch out for it for now," Cap said, a hologram of the strange ship appearing on the holotable before them, "Friday, keep tabs on it."

"Can do, sir."

"Alright. Stark, Thor, get some rest," Cap ordered, "Clint, Natasha and I will head down in a little while. Everyone else is dismissed."

"I like the warp drive," Rocket commented as the ship dove into the atmosphere at a rapid pace in an attempt to keep from being spotted by possible radar.

"Yeah, but I don't think the Milano likes it," Starlord replied, his mask forming over his face as the ship drew to a halt just above the dirt of the forest, then landed it with extreme care. He didn't like that his ship sometimes became damaged.

"It is time for us to kick some of this "ass" we keep speaking of," Drax said, drawing the two broadswords he had strapped across his back and spinning them around in his hands. "Though I do not know why we would kick something that someone may need to sit on. If I'm kicking something, I prefer to target the groin or the chest, or somewhere less—"

"Alright, Drax, buddy, that's enough," Starlord lifted his hands and flashed an expression of exasperation before realizing Drax might not be able to see it because of the mask. "Let's go."

"Yes. Let us kick some of the ass."

"What he said," Rocket said, priming his rifle, and the three of them set off, leaving Groot and Gamora with the ship.

The world outside of the ship was strangely welcoming to Peter, but then, he hadn't expected such a Terran-like planet to be the place the next Stone was hidden on. He had been expecting a more stone-like place, and maybe a volcano, similar to the Orb. Not trees and dirt and the massive temple looming over the Milano.

"That's gotta be where we need to go," Quill said, pointing up at the temple and its mysterious exterior, "Stone'll be in there."

"Lead the way, Pete," Rocket said, and the trio set off for a nearby set of steps on the side of the temple.

Quill used his boot jets to fly his way up to the first platform, completely leaving the other two behind. He ignored the cynical, sarcastic comment about him being a fine leader and continued to analyze the platform.

Either there had been some sort of damaging earthquake, or a battle had happened here. To the side, there was a wall with holes in it from something smashing through them, as well as a small trench where something had broken through the bricks and dug through them for several yards. The far wall was riddled with burn marks and holes, and in the center, the wall was completely gone, the bricks strewn around the landing in several locations and a set of steps leading deeper in.

"Good thing Drax here can climb, or I'd be having your head for leaving us down there by ourselves," Rocket whined as he and Drax crested the wall the latter had climbed with the former on his back.

"There was a fight here," Peter observed, drawing his Kree blasters and sweeping them across the room, "A big one."

After ensuring the area was secure, Quill ran over to the staircase and bounded down two steps at a time. He reached the room at the bottom and cursed quietly.

"It's gone. Whoever was fighting upstairs took it already."

"Quill, I've got their scent!" Rocket yelled from upstairs, and Quill spun and leapt back up the steps with his jet boots.

"Where are they?"

"Not here, that's for sure, but they were here recently. Maybe an hour, max."

Quill nodded and ran to another corner of the wall, finding another set of steps and running up them with the other two following behind. But as they reached the top, Rocket whispered harshly, "Stop!"

Drax and Peter did as they were warned and stopped, turning to Rocket. "What?"

"I can hear voices up ahead," Rocket spoke in a low, cautious tone, pumping the slide on his oversized rifle, "And they wasn't sounding nice, I'll tell you that much."

"Is there a chance for kicking of the ass soon, Peter Quill?" Drax wondered with a smile on his face. His dual swords gleamed in the moonlight shining between the pillars nearby.

"We should check it out, first," Peter said, removing his mask, "And stay quiet. They could be dangerous."

The Terran man began to walk down the corridor, which was a solid wall on one side and a set of pillars on the other side, which was open to a view of the horizon, and he began to hear the voices, as well.

"...This place doesn't feel right, Steve." A woman's voice said with suspicion lacing her words.

"If this is where they found the Stone, then this'll be where we can pick up the trail," a man—Steve—said, and three sets of footsteps approached.

"Hide!" Peter hissed, and the three of them ran to the pillars and hid amongst them. Quill himself had pressed against the pillar and inched his way to the outside of the pillar, with Drax doing the same. Rocket simply hung from the ledge.

The footsteps grew louder, and Quill began to listen closer to the conversation.

"This isn't up for debate, Natasha," Steve said, and the footsteps stopped. "We need to find that Stone and get it into Asgardian hands or something before Loki or somebody even worse gets ahold of it."

"I feel like this is a trap," the woman—Natasha—sighed.

"I think we could handle the locals," a second male voice said, "We beat the Chitauri back on Earth. We can beat just about anybody else, right?"

Quill tensed. Earth? As in, Terra? These were people from his home planet?

"We have to be capable," Steve said, "We cannot let that Stone get into the wrong hands or that Stone could be the end of life as we know it."

"I know, Captain," Natasha replied, "But isn't there a better way?"

"No," Steve answered, "There wasn't another way back when I crashed the HYDRA warship into the Arctic, and there sure isn't another way now, unless you want to go and ask around for the location of a Stone that nobody believes even exists."

"I know it exists."

Quill didn't know why he spoke up just then. Maybe it was because this was the first contact he had with Terrans in a very, very long time. Xandarians were the only humans he had ever communicated with since that fateful moment Yondu abducted him.

Shifting his way around the pillar and knowing he might be walking into a situation he might not be able to fight his way out of, he activated his mask and lifted his hands to show he held no weapons.

He rounded the pillar and spotted three figures: a shapely, athletic woman in a tight black suit, and he had to admit, his eyes were drawn to certain parts of the suit where it was tightest. This was Natasha, surely. She had red hair and glowing blue lines traced the edges of her body in the dark.

The second was a man. He was of about average height and wearing a sleeveless tunic with black armbands and fingerless gloves, combat boots, and sunglasses...at night. Possibly night vision? He also was equipped with a weird container on his back with arrows in it—Peter never really learned much about bows and arrows on Terran, and most other civilizations out this far never even used bows. Speaking of which, the man also held a bow in one hand and the bowstring was pulled taut with the other, an arrow nocked.

The third figure, and the most intimidating, was a tall, broad-shouldered and muscular man wearing a blue jumpsuit and cowl.

Across his abdomen were red and white vertical stripes, stylish combat boots, and had a big "A" printed on his forehead and a big white star at the center of his chest. Something round was attached to his back. He looked familiar, like one of Peter's comic books when he was younger, before Yondu showed up.

"Who are you?" The large man said. Judging from his voice, Peter figured this was Steve, and Steve looked like he could probably go toe to toe with Drax.

"Some call me Starlord," Peter said, not willing to give his real name, "And I'm here for the Stone, same as you."

"Interesting mask you've got there," Natasha observed, holding two Terran handguns aimed at him.

"Thanks. Got it off of some dude back on Xandar after I caved his teeth in for making fun of my mom," Peter said, "I don't like it when people insult my mom."

"You're young," the second man said, "I can tell from your voice and demeanor. Twenty nine, maybe?"

"That's debatable," Quill said, "So I heard you're looking for the Stone here."

"What's it to you?" Steve asked suspiciously.

"I wanna get it so I can bring it back to the planet of Xandar so the Nova Corps can protect it."

"Xandar? Nova Corps..." Natasha began, to which Steve finished, "What are you talking about, Starlord?"

"Not a veteran space-traveller like me?" Quill wondered, "Figured. Natasha there's got pea-shooters. Caveman over there has a bow."

The woman looked offended, and the archer pursed his lips and lowered the bow. After a moment the black-clad bombshell lowered her weapons, too.

"What do you want, Starlord?" Steve inquired, and for the first time Quill noticed the wrist-mounted computer on Steve's right arm. He stood with it closer to Quill. Maybe it had something to do with the disc on his back.

"I'm here to find the Stone so I can bring it to somebody who can protect it. In case you weren't aware, I and my team saved the galaxy from being destroyed by Ronan the Accuser, who was using a Stone himself to try and destroy a planet. I don't want that to happen again."

Steve lowered the guard he had raised. "My team and I have come across three of the Stones. If your goal is to keep them out of the wrong hands, then I think we should work together here."

"Cap, what are you doing?" Natasha turned to him with a stern expression marring the beauty of her otherwise beautiful face, "We don't even know this guy!"

"Clint, what do you think?" Steve turned to the archer. He shrugged.

"Stark pulled us here to get a Stone, so that's what we should do, even if it means teaming up with the locals."

"I'm not a local," Peter corrected Clint, lowering his arms, "But I have the same goal you do. Help me find the Stone and we can choose what to do with it once it's in our possession."

Steve gave a curt nod and offered his hand. It took Peter a moment to realize that Steve was waiting for a handshake—an act he never often did, considering the lack of honor among thieves.

The rogue stepped forward and clasped the massive man's hand, giving it a firm shake.

"So, do you have anything at might help us find the Stone?" Natasha asked as she nonchalantly and mockingly checked the nails that she couldn't even see because of the black gloves in her hands. Quill rolled his eyes; it took a lot of his willpower not to respond with the same sarcasm she just showed him. Thankfully his eyes were hidden behind his mask, so he wouldn't be seen in the middle of his eye-rolling.

"Rocket!" he shouted, turning to the row of pillars, "We've made some friends, let's go."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a twist..."

Moments later, the raccoon appeared from behind the pillars, along with Drax, who had sheathed his swords. The three Terrans seemed surprised by the former much more than the latter.

"Is that...is that the thing that was eating outta my trash can the other day?" Clint asked, looking at Rocket.

"Hey, FUCK you!" Rocket snarled, drawing his folded rifle from his back and extending it to point it at the archer.

"Rocket, stop stop stop!" Quill frantically placed himself between Rocket and the offender, "He was joking, joking!"

"He just said I ate out of a trash can!"

"So what? Drax called you worse, and you were fine!"

Rocket growled and took a deep breath, shot Clint a nasty look, and lowered his gun.

Quill turned to the three Terrans and raised his hands again. "In the future, could we not make fun of my friend? He has anger issues."

"And a big gun!" Rocket piped in.

"Clint, watch your mouth next time," Steve barked at the other man, "If we're making allies, we don't want them turning on us over insults."

"Yes, of course, Cap," the archer sassed.

"We done here? Then let's get to work. Rocket, you had a lead?" Quill asked, and the raccoon looked at him.

"Yeah. I can smell the leftovers from the people and the ship. It went that way." Rocket pointed in the direction of a distant city, just a small dot on the horizon.

"Okay. That's where we start. Star-lord, you have your team meet us on our ship nearby. We'll discuss a plan there on how we find and obtain the Stone."

"How'd you know it was there?"

Steve walked past him with his two teammates but turned and said, "We've already had two guys knocked down by four teenage girls who already found the Stone."

"Alright. See you there. Wait, how do we find it?" Quill asked as Steve continued to walk away.

The star-spangled man didn't turn around this time. "You'll know it when you see it."

 _Ruination was all around her as she wandered the fallen city of Vale._

 _Destruction. Death. Despair._

 _Screams. Horrible, terrible screams that haunt for years after they have been heard._

 _Her knees hit the ground hard, painfully. But no pain was worse than the sight of seeing one's world crumbling around them._

 _No. No. No, no, no!_

 _She's...dead. Her sister was dead._

 _She cradled her dead sister in her arms, tears dripping onto the corpse's face._

 _Failure. She let the Stone fall into their hands._

 _And it was all her fault._

 _Thanos._

 _The Mad Titan. He came. He did this._

 _All because she failed. It was all her fault. All their fault, because they weren't strong enough._

Ruby opened her eyes to see Yang tossing and turning in her bunk.

She was muttering something. The same thing, over, and over, and over.

Ruby quickly hopped down and rushed over to Blake's bed and hopped up so she could stand on it and reach Yang. The blonde was still muttering, but now she was almost violently thrashing.

"...Thanos...Thanos...Thanos...Thanos, Thanos, Thanos..."

As Yang began to hyperventilate, Ruby looked over at the Stone. It was hidden in the bathroom, the only place that had only one way in. Behind the mirror, but it had barely shone through the reflective surface. It was visible to those who actually looked for it.

Against her better judgement, Ruby left Yang to writhe in her blanket and approached the bathroom, then opened the mirror and looked inside.

There it was, in all its powerful, deadly glory: the Infinity Stone, the gem that granted godly power to those who held it.

She reached inside and gently touched its smooth surface, then picked it up gingerly with her fingers. She inspected it with curiosity and wonder.

"What is it that makes you so dangerous?" Ruby said to the gem, and in reply, it seemed to glow brighter, and brighter, and brighter, until she was blinded and could not see.

The light faded, and Ruby was no longer in her dorm room bathroom, but, rather, instead she was now watching over a city. She had seen it before, in the airship ride to Beacon: the city of Vale, now smoking and lying in ruins.

"Wh-what?" Ruby gasped, looking down at the Stone. Except she no longer held the Stone. She held her Crescent Rose and in the reflection of the window, Ruby saw a wily, messy, sweaty girl whose silver eyes had recently seen tears and unspeakable horrors. And as she watched out the window, a red and gold airship flew over the city, and from it, a pillar of golden light descended and wreaked havoc upon the surface. The beam grew incredibly bright, blindingly bright, until it became nothing but a white wall of light.

Ruby yelped and dropped the Stone when it burnt her hand, and she snapped out of the vision.

Yang and Weiss were right: this Stone had the power to destroy everything she held dear.

She picked it up and quickly replaced it in the mirror cabinet, and now the light inside no longer penetrated through the reflective wall in front of it. She even went as far as to lock it shut—not that it would stop a determined fist, but it was a security measure nonetheless.

She looked out just in time to see the sunrise peeking through the window and painting the wall with orange light, and she decided it was about time to start getting ready for...nothing. Today was the first day of the week-long vacation period that had been scheduled so the professors could meet with the other Kingdom headmasters and discuss things. That meant today was a day she could use to help her friends-slash-team make a plan to hide the Stone.

So she began getting dressed in her disguise outfit so nobody would immediately recognize her and began getting the other three girls out of bed so they could get to work.


	5. Pledging Allegiance

**Hi! Not even gonna bother acting like this is late, because I can't even consistently post anyway, so it isn't like I'm on a schedule.**

 **So, hi! I still don't get consistent access to wifi, but I just got introduced to a little thing called BetterNet, which I can use to post via the school's wifi. So maybe I can become more consistent.**

 **Other than these things, I have also been notified that I am moving to a different house in my area for my mom's help. Maybe I'll have wifi there, too. I don't know.**

 **So, after these announcements, I'm just gonna let you guys have at the new chapter! Here's the newest chapter of Gods Among Women!**

The Avengers were an interesting bunch, certainly. Especially since one of them was a World War II vet, another was the son of a scientist during that time, and another was a god and heir to a kingdom.

Quill had introduced himself to a couple of them, specifically the tech genius and self-dubbed multi-billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark and the non-Terran Asgardian man known as Thor. Steve had said they were the two men who had tried to obtain the Stone, only to be fought off by the locals.

Now, here he was, sitting around in the hangar with his team and the other half dozen Avengers, waiting for Steve, Thor and Tony. He looked around at his team through his mask, which he had yet to take off since he arrived. He didn't quite feel that it was a good idea for them to see his face just yet.

Drax was bored, just sitting and cleaning his swords for the third time in the hour. Gamora was...doing exactly the same thing, cleaning the longsword she always took with her. Rocket was fiddling with his gun, manually unloading and loading the magazine and loading it into the gun, then repeating the process. Groot was...well, being Groot.

"Alright, I think we've come up with a plan," Steve said as he finally reappeared, dressed in his star-spangled suit once again and carrying the disk that apparently was an indestructible shield, "Listen up."

He entered the circle and placed the shield in a clip on his back. "Alright, we need to find the Stone's location before we can do anything about it, so we're going to have anybody who looks human searching the city nearby. Friday's been working on extracting info and she's figured out that the city is called Vale. Starlord, you'll be with me and most of my team. Dr. Banner and Vision will be staying here with Wanda and the rest of your team."

"Why?" Rocket asked indignantly, "Why can't I go and search for it? Or Groot?"

"This world is not as diverse, little rodent," Thor said from his spot atop a shelf, "As ones you may be accustomed to. Only humans live on this planet as sentient beings. The green-skin and the warrior will not fit in so well down on the surface here. And you certainly will not."

"Some of them carry weapons around," Cap continued, "So we should be able to get away with carrying our weapons with us, but keep it subtle. We don't need to attract attention here."

The captain looked around, meeting everyone's eyes once or twice before saying, "Anybody have any questions?"

No response.

"Okay. We'll mainly be looking for a group of teenagers, each of them armed. One of them is about fifteen with dark red hair and a red sniper rifle, one has white hair, a scarred eye and carries around a rapier, another has black hair and a pair of swords and wears a bow on her head, and the last has blonde hair and yellow bracelets. Keep those descriptions in mind. If you see one and think you can successfully tail them, do it, but contact the others and let them know beforehand so we can provide backup. Let's get moving. Sun's coming up, so move out."

Yang seemed particularly tired today, quite possibly due to her restless night after her vision that she refused to speak about.

It wasn't that Yang didn't want to talk, of course; it was just that everyone in the team basically already knew what she saw.

Ruby herself had chosen to keep the Stone with her, since neither Weiss not Yang felt quite up to the task today and Blake had nowhere to hide it on her person. So now Ruby was hiding it in a pocket on the underside of her skirt pleats that she had quickly sewn in this morning to give her a place to put the Stone.

"I never met my dad, but my mom is cool, she said he was suuuuper nice and really confident and she says that I'm just like him because he liked to use a hammer too and I like to use a hammer..."

Also, Team JNPR happened to be with Team RWBY on the way to the park for a picnic they had planned out two weeks before.

Nora, naturally, was babbling her head off as nobody but Ren actually listened. Everyone had gotten pretty good at tuning her out. Yang was simply shambling, looking extremely weary and on the verge of passing out. Weiss was holding onto Yang's arm to guide her around since she seemed to be mentally absent at the moment. Blake seemed a bit distracted, perhaps using her non-human ears to search for danger. Ruby was occupying Jaune and Pyrrha with conversation to keep their minds off of Yang and Weiss, who were very tired from yesterday.

Oh, and Weiss still hadn't opened that eye.

"How is your uncle lately, Ruby?" Jaune asked, "I've seen him around the academy looking kinda tired."

Ruby had made the conversation about family because she knew that both Jaune and Pyrrha would be willing to talk about them, and of course, Nora had joined in, too, which was why she was talking about her mom and dad. Ren was silent as per usual.

"I dunno. He's been hanging around Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood. He's busy," Ruby answered, habitually touching the Stone beneath her skirt.

"He's a cool guy, but he smells like alcohol every time he walks by," Jaune said.

"Yeah...he's kinda alcoholic."

"Picnic time!"

Nora's rude interjection notified the conversing team leaders that they had arrived at their destination: the park, where the picnic was planned to take place. The bubbly berserker immediately set to work and began flattening out the picnic blanket while Ren set the food out.

While Jaune and Pyrrha helped their teammates, Ruby felt someone grab her hand, and she turned to find that person was Blake. The cat pulled her aside and whispered to her.

"We've been getting followed for ten minutes."

Ruby cursed herself for not being more aware, then looked around. "Where are they?" She whispered back.

Blake subtly jerked her head in the a direction, and Ruby made her best attempt at being less obvious when she looked for the culprit.

 _There_.

A curvy, red-haired woman wearing a black spandex suit with blue lines on the limbs and a pair of pistols in a holster on either hip. A Huntress of some sort? Probably an Atlesian—too military-like to be Valean. But those handguns were...they were not standard issue in any form of the word. Not even by Atlas standards.

She was also talking to some unseen person, so she was in communication with somebody.

"We can't afford to let her take the Stone, or even tell somebody that we have it," Blake rasped as the woman continued to watch from afar.

"I don't think she knows we have it. Hammer Guy and Iron Man would be back by now if that were true," Ruby said, "But I understand. But what do we do about it?"

"We might be able to lose her if we split up into groups. We have a pretty convenient excuse; in the rush out the door we forgot the beverages at the academy and we have no ice, either. Maybe we could tell Jaune and the others to stay here while you and I head back to the Academy and Yang and Weiss head out and get some ice."

Ruby scanned around the park for a moment and grunted in frustration. The woman was just joined by a man, this one looking younger than her but also more athletic, and tall, and he had long blonde hair. He wore a silver spandex shirt and black pants. Problem was, it was like he just... appeared. He hadn't been there a second ago; she was watching and he simply blinked into existence. He also was not nearly as careful when he was watching them; he was just blatantly looking back and forth at Ruby and then at the woman and back again.

"He's not trained to be stealthy. But he'll be just as dangerous as anybody we've faced," Blake rasped, taking a glance back and seeing Yang and Weiss leaning against a tree, the former too tired to do anything and the latter exhausted from carrying the former. They wouldn't be moving, and Weiss was hardly able to navigate because her bangs were covering her scarred eye, which she had still yet to open since yesterday.

Ruby was rapidly going through ideas and plans in her head, in a mild state of panic because she knew that any minute those...guys, would be showing up.

"I-I don't know what to do," Ruby stammered, for the first time being without a single possible plan that could be successful.

"Well, that's inconvenient for you, isn't it?"

Ruby and Blake whipped around, the larger of the two placing herself between Ruby and the man who just blinked into existence in front of them.

Up this close, Ruby discovered that he had a very strange accent. He was also taller than expected, and very lean, wearing that silver spandex shirt that pulled tight across his torso and chest. He had stubble and white-blonde hair that looked rather windswept, like he did sprints on a daily basis and then followed them with a ride in a convertible. He was currently leaning against the tree the two girl had been hiding behind.

"I hear you girls have a nice Stone," the man said, chuckling, "Mind if I take a look at it?"

Blake reached for her katana when the man disappeared again with a noise not unlike that of a maglev train going by and then reappeared, and when he did, Blake no longer _had_ a katana and Ruby's Crescent Rose was now hanging from his neck.

"Well, you girls hide your rocks well, I'll give you that," the man said, offering their weapons back to them, which they hastily snatched back up, "But I'm good at finding things quickly. But then, I'm a very quick man. That's why some call me Quicksilver."

Quicksilver. That's how he did it—he was so fast that it looked like he was moving faster than sound.

The man known as Quicksilver smiled and waggled his finger, walking away. "And you will never see it coming."

Then he ran again, bolting away and disappearing into thin air. Ruby was left speechless.

"Scare tactics," Blake said, scanning around, "He wants us to know they're coming for the Stone. Looks like it was just those two. They're gone."

Ruby took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. "So we've got a metal man, a walking lightning rod, some spy lady and a guy we can't even see? This just keeps getting better and better."

Blake nodded. "We can only try to protect this thing. We can't do much about it other than that."

Ruby sighed in exasperation and felt the stone in her skirt pleats. "I guess so. Come on, we've gotta go and eat before Jaune and the others get suspicious of us."

Blake agreed with a grunt of confirmation, then followed the team leader to the picnic blanket and their alternate counterparts.

Cinder sat among the numerous crates of Dust and weaponry in the White Fang's possession, meditating within the shadows.

"Cinder! _Cinder_!"

She opened a single eye and looked ahead to see her female protege standing before her.

"What is it, Emerald?" Cinder purred calmly, but with something of an impatient edge. She hated being interrupted.

"You need to see this."

"What is it, I asked."

"I can't explain. You just have to _see_ him."

Him?

White Fang agents stood around the entrance of the base in a circle, aiming their guns at a silhouette.

The looming figure standing at the door of the headquarters was ominous for many reasons. Perhaps it was his insane height. Perhaps it was the dark, violet cloak masking his face in shadow, or the fact that his eyes glowed orange in the blackness.

Cinder entered the room parallel to him, her swords in hand. Normally she wouldn't have done that, but he put her on edge.

"What is it you come here for...?" Cinder purred again, trying to use her soft voice to allure him. She was sometimes called a Succubus for that reason.

He gave no response other than taking a step forward, and the foot he revealed in doing so was clad in a giant golden boot with massive golden studs. The ground quaked as he walked.

"I come for the Soul Stone."

His voice was so deep and booming that it echoed and seemed as if his creator had searched the depths of an abyss to find a voice so deep.

Cinder furrowed her brow and looked at the behemoth. "What is this Soul Stone?" He didn't pay any heed to her subtle assembly of her blade bow. That, or he didn't care.

"It is a gem, as your people might call it. Perhaps very similar to one of your topaz in color and shape. It grants incredible power to he who wields it."

Cinder perked up at that, lowering her bow, the string of which was nocked with a glass arrow and pulled into a right angle, the arrowhead in line with the man's head. As high as it was. She relieved the tension on the bow.

"Incredible power, you say..." Cinder smiled deviously, "I am listening."

"I have discovered via means which many would find...disagreeable, that you might be the one to turn to should I need to find such a gem."

"What makes you believe this, my dear?" Cinder giggled evilly, "I am also known to be ruthless and persistent."

The man didn't remove his gaze from her as he brandished several round objects wrapped in black and dripping red.

The decapitated heads of several White Fang agents.

"You and I are one in the same, Cinder Fall," the man bellowed, the hand holding the heads armored in a massive, golden gauntlet with a socket on each knuckle and another on the back of his hand. The one on the back of his hand already had a glowing object attached to it. Another gem, this one green.

Cinder looked to her sides. Mercury stood on one side, silent but prepared, and Emerald resided on her other side with her revolvers drawn and aiming at the man. Not that bullets would do much; this was no mere man.

"I offer you a chance to wield great power, Cinder Fall," the man said, discarding the severed heads to the side, "And your allies will bathe in riches acquired from all across the galaxy. All you are required to do is accept and do as I say, and that power is yours."

Cinder considered for mere moments before saying slowly, "Your wish is my command. I need only your name."

The man laughed darkly and discarded his cloak, revealing a hulking mass of golden-armored, magenta-skinned muscle.

"I am Thanos, the new God of Death."


	6. Sanctuary, Warship of Thanos

**Hey, guys! Two weeks, right? Long time, huh?**

 **So, I've found out that Fanfiction is not letting me put dividers in of any kind, so it is getting very difficult to actually format. My apologies. Hopefully the ones I added in this one actually stay.**

 **also, I can finally use the school wifi to post, so I might be able to go back to weekly for a while. In addition, I've been asked if this takes place after Volume 3. Given how it ended, I don't think most of the plot would make any sense here, so, no.**

 **Other than those, I hope you enjoy this chapter of Gods Among Women!**

 **—**

Another restless night.

Another stupid, restless night.

This night was worse than last night. Last night, it was simple visions. But tonight...

At least last night was a sleep-filled one. Yang could sleep through her exhaustion. Now she couldn't stay comfortable, much less asleep.

She sat up in her bed and looked around despite how much energy and effort it took. Ruby, asleep. Blake, likely asleep. Weiss...

Gone.

Yang jumped down from the bunk and stumbled—her lack of sleep off-putting her balance—then rushed to the heiress's bed. No sign that she had even left, yet she wasn't here.

She whipped around to look into the bathroom, then ran to it. She opened the mirror cabinet.

The Stone was gone.

"No. No, no, no, no."

Where did it go? What happened to it? Where is it? Where—

"Yang, what's wrong?"

Yang whipped around and spotted Weiss, standing behind her, looking worried.

"The Stone! It's gone!"

Weiss lifted an eyebrow. "It's in the wardrobe. In your section. You put it there."

Yang stood stunned for several seconds before blushing and sweating. She leaned against the counter behind her. "Oh. Right."

Weiss half-frowned and leaned against the counter beside her friend. "What's wrong? You couldn't remember something that you did only hours ago. Are you okay?"

Yang hugged her waist and looked out the door, where there was a good view of the window. The shattered moon peeked into the room, the shattered satellite seeming brighter and closer than normal. "That stupid Stone. It's too much. I can't sleep because it keeps putting thoughts in my head, telling me about what will happen if somebody gets it. It's doing something to me. It thinks I need to be the one to protect it, and it won't let me rest. I haven't had restful sleep in two days, and I'm exhausted."

Yang yawned in response to her own statement. "I'm scared, Weiss. I'm scared that we're gonna fail and that Remnant is gonna pay for it. I-it terrifies me. I-I-I don't want that. I-I...I-I-I..."

A combination of the exhaustion, fear, and several other emotional pressures forced her to break, and she lifted a hand to her cheek and held her head up as she began to cry in frustration.

The weight of the task was just too much. To protect an Infinity Stone from some alien being whose power was unmatched...it was too crazy. Too much.

Yang wept softly into her hands. "I can't handle this. I-i-it's too much," whined lowly.

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her, and she looked down to find that Weiss was hugging her. After a moment of trying to solidify her voice, Yang said, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"You need comfort, and I'm providing," Weiss said, "And I've already talked to Ruby. We're taking the Stone to Ozpin tomorrow after Goodwitch's assignment, barring anymore visits by our supernatural friends. Even if he doesn't help us, he may give us some advice on how we can protect it."

Yang hugged Weiss back, sniveling. "Thank you." She absentmindedly played with Weiss's hair as she embraced her friend.

"We'll get through this, Yang," Weiss reassured her friend, "We'll make it. I'm sure of it. We always do."

The two remained hugging for several minutes before Yang reluctantly let Weiss go, and the two returned to their beds, with Weiss falling asleep in seconds and Yang finding comfort where she couldn't before, and she was capable of some less-than-restful sleep, but it was something. The two slept till morning, and Yang made an effort to remember Weiss's words.

"We'll make it. I'm sure of it. We always do."

 **—**

"Natasha and I found them in a park near the center of the city."

Pietro reported this with his hand stroking his stubble, his facial hair which barely even warranted being referred to as a beard. Strange that for a man so fast, his hair didn't grow faster.

"In the middle of the city?" Cap echoed, then tapped his fingers against the table. "That's gonna make the job a lot harder."

"That's not all," Natasha continued, "They've got military forces all throughout the city and a whole academy specifically for combat nearby. These girls are students there. If we try to take the Stone by force, then we have to deal with an army and a school of highly-trained warriors."

"They're called Huntsmen, Miss Romanoff," Friday corrected.

"Huntsmen."

"What about you, Stark? Thor? What're we looking at here? Find out anything?" Cap asked.

"I found out that they have really good peanuts down there," Stark replied, popping one into the air and catching it in his mouth. He and the nearby Agent Barton threw their hands in the air like they were celebrating a field goal in football.

"Seriously, Stark."

"Oh, right. I didn't find much on the girls we're after, but I _did_ find that they use this stuff called Dust to fuel just about everything. Comes in crystals. Lots of different effects. It's pretty frickin' cool. I may have to put together a suit that runs off the stuff, it's powerful."

"Thor?" Cap turned to the Asgardian.

"These humans are much more advanced technologically than most worlds, including yours. It may be the Dust that allows them to become so advanced. Some of it resembles Asgardian—perhaps my people helped to create this civilization."

"How about Starlord? Where is he?"

"He's in the hangar with his team," Barton answered the captain, "He told me he would talk to you later."

"Right now, we don't have "later," Barton," Cap replied, "The sooner we get the Stone, the sooner we can decide what to do with it."

"He has his team, Cap, and we have ours. We need to try and remember that sometimes here. You didn't exactly put a lot of thought into teaming up with them, and you certainly never asked anyone."

"I asked you."

"Yeah, but I'm also just one person. You should have talked to the team first. I don't think Starlord was expecting to show up and get recruited, either. All I'm asking is that you think this whole thing through, with your team there to help."

Cap nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. I'll ask the rest of the team tomorrow, after everyone is awake and gathered. Until then, get some shuteye. Something tells me we might end up in a fight tomorrow."

The team dispersed and returned to their respective quarters, awaiting morning to continue their search for the Stone.

 **—**

"I don't think this was a good idea."

Quill heard the raccoon say the sentence for the third dozenth time in the past three hours.

"We can't just show up and trust some group of freaks that rolled up to our side of town. WE'RE supposed to BE that group of freaks!"

"I am Groot."

"Exactly!" Rocket pointed at Groot in approval.

"I agree with the rodent," Gamora said from her standing position beside Drax, who was sitting down, "This group of people very well could simply be agents of Thanos. One of them is an Asgardian; Thanos once worked with an Asgardian to find a gem known as the Tesseract. That was on Terra."

"What exactly is an Asgardian?" Quill asked the adopted daughter of Thanos.

"They are beings that have existed long before your Terra and even Xandar have. The power of an Asgardian is a force to be reckoned with, and they have been known to conquer planets in a matter of hours. I do not trust them; they are arrogant and greedy. Be wary of the one known as Thor."

Quill looked out the cockpit of the Milano. He could see the two dark-skinned men—what was it they called the darker skinned people on Terra?—conversing as they performed maintenance on their equipment, one of them a jet pack of sorts and the other a big metal suit of armor. Their equipment was hanging on chains from a rack that was yellow in color. The one with the suit, however, seemed significantly more dangerous.

Of course, looks were deceiving with these people, especially that Natasha.

"I think these Avengers are our only chance at finding the Stone," Peter said, still watching the man with the armor suit, "Unless we want to start an invasion with the Nova Corp's help, or call in Yondu, but we all remember what happened last time we told him about a Stone, so we only have these guys here to help."

"Do you trust them?" Gamora asked, following Starlord's gaze to the two dark-skinned Avengers outside. After a few moments, Quill answered.

"Yeah. I think they're the guys we need help from. If we don't, we might have to do all of this ourselves, and we just can't. We need the Avengers' help, so yes, I do trust them."

Gamora sighed. "Very well. We will follow your lead, Peter Quill."

"Thanks. It would suck to have to do this by myself."

"I am Groot."

Quill and Gamora whirled and faced Groot. The tree was smiling and had stuck his thumb up.

"Thanks, Groot," Peter replied.

"I am Groot."

"Starlord!"

The shout came from the back of the ship, at the landing ramp. It was Steve.

Peter activated his mask and ran to the back of the ship, where the star-spangled Avenger stood.

"What is it?"

"Friday just told us about a ship that passed across our radar a minute ago. Is that one of yours?"

"What?"

 **—**

It was a ship, alright. But nothing of any design he was familiar with.

It was huge, first of all. It was probably ten times as large as the giant warship Quill was already on. It looked like two gigantic, vertical rectangular prisms attached by another horizontal one between them. It was gray and had blue-glowing thrusters behind and below it that kept the behemoth aloft, but how something to massive could stay in midair was a phenomenon in and of itself, much less the fact that it had probably come here bearing a passenger that likely wanted the Stone.

It also did not seem concerned about Stark's warship, either, which for something that massive, it probably ignored the smaller Goliath of a ship.

"That's..." Quill scratched his head and tried not to become slack jawed in the process. "That's a bit big, huh?"

"That isn't one of yours, then?" Stark asked the rogue, who shook his masked head.

"That's bigger than the Dark Aster..." Gamora said, looking at the holographic image with angry resolve.

"Gamora? Do you know something about this?" Quill turned to his teammate and pointed at the ship.

"...y-yes. It is the ship that Thanos used to conquer my homeworld. It...I didn't think...I don't..."

"Hold on, this thing conquered your home world?" Steve asked with urgency, "As in, another planet? By itself?"

"Yes. It singlehandedly obliterated all of my kind but I. I do not believe we will defeat it in combat."

Peter and Steve looked at each other and then back at the holotable. The latter spoke first.

"This complicates things. It doesn't have any backup, but I don't think it needs any. We need to avoid it altogether if we want to find the Stone."

"Think the green one could take it down?" Stark asked.

"Not without help I couldn't," Gamora answered.

Stark turned to her. "I didn't mean you."

"No," Steve turned to the philanthropist, "We have to find the Stone first, and soon. Once we have it we can take that thing down."

"That is the ship of Thanos," Gamora slapped her hands down on the holotable. "We cannot stop it, only avoid it."

"Who is Thanos?" Steve asked the assassin, "You keep saying his name."

"Thanos is my...my adopted father. He destroyed my homeworld and took me from my family. He tortured me and turned me into a machine of death and destruction."

"He destroyed your planet?"

"Yes. He does all of this in hopes of earning the love of the Goddess of Death. He searches for the Infinity Stone so he might lay waste to the universe and impress Death herself."

Stark and Steve looked at each other, then at Quill, who nodded to confirm this.

The armored avenger returned to the holotable. "I guess it's time I get an upgrade. If we're fighting a delusional borderline deity with weird fetishes, I'm gonna need a better suit."

"Then hop on it. We're in stealth, so we're fine for now, but we need to get some rest to keep looking for the Stone. We have to get it before Thanos."

"Right. Gamora, let's get some sleep," Quill said, "Big day tomorrow."

The assassin nodded, but the stress on her face did not look to be the sort that she would be able to sleep with. She followed Peter back to the Milano, but then broke off and went to the bunk room to restlessly toss and turn for the night.


	7. Battle for the Stone

**Hey, there! Here I am, posting two weeks late, so I compensated by creating a chapter that I think is twice as long as the normal chapters. i would have posted last week but I forgot my iPad at home the day I was gonna post so I couldn't do that. So, I made up for it this time.**

 **Now, are the dividers working? I'm trying to make sure I use them but every time I do, the site deletes them or something. So the chapters turn into kind of a mess.**

 **Also, For the record, I will be making mentions of the Maidens throughout the story, but those are the only elements introduced in volume 3 that I will be utilizing here. For obvious reasons.**

 **other than that, I have naught but this to say: enjoy!**

 **-—•**

An over-break assignment by Goodwitch had sent the Beacon teams into the Red Forest this time.

In any other situation, Ruby had no problem being here; the sap from the trees was known to be used by Ren and her father to make the Redwood Syrup, the sweetest and most delicious of breakfast condiments. But in this situation it was much less enjoyable.

For one, Ruby discovered that Goodwitch had given each team the task of acquiring a different Grimm trophy. Team JNPR had gotten the easy one: a Beowolf fang. Team SSSN ended up with getting an Ursa claw. Simple.

But, because Team RWBY was one of Goodwitch's most promising groups, they got the most difficult one: a piece of Deathstalker chitin.

"Hey, at least it isn't a Nevermore," Blake commented in an effort to keep the group optimistic, a rather uncharacteristic act by the Faunus. Blake, however, slept well. The others did not. Blake never touched the Stone for any lengthy amount of time.

Ruby's stress levels were through the roof right now. She'd had a nightmare about the white pillar again, but the ship was different. It wasn't the red and gold ship, it was even larger, bigger than any ship in the Atlesian arsenal, and stone gray. But this time, she saw something else, too. A man, wearing red, white, and blue, standing beside her on one side and a metal-masked, red-eyed, leather-jacketed man on the other. Then the blinding white again, and then morning.

Exhaustion barely even registered as so at this point. Somehow Yang pulled through, but Ruby didn't do so well. At this point, sleep was all but a priority.

So the team set out to go after a Deathstalker, but Ruby knew there would be some time to search before they would find it. So as their feet wandered, so did her mind.

Who were those two men? Why were they appearing to her? Were they hidden allies? Enemies? Maybe she'd been a prisoner in that vision and they were forcing her to watch. She couldn't rule anything out.

"I think I hear something."

Yang said this as her gauntlets unfolded and she looked around. Ruby listened closely and drew the Crescent Rose, searching with her ears before her eyes.

"That's...engines." Weiss summoned Myrtenaster from her sleeve and took up her position.

"Incoming!" Blake cried, and Ruby whirled.

"Ugh!"

The high-speed of the flying man was enough by itself to knock Ruby over, but the fact that the man was larger than her and wearing a metal armguard as he hit her didn't help.

She felt herself being sandwiched between the man and several hard objects, which she simply passed through like they were nothing, then the man stopped. She hit the ground to bounce a few times before hitting a tree and screed hong to a halt.

"The Stone. Where is it?"

Ruby made a huge effort to sit up, but she hadn't gotten her Aura activated before the man hit her. She was sore and most likely injured. Still, she forced herself to lean her back against the tree and face her attacker.

It was the man in the red leather and the metal mask, from the vision. He stood between her and the line of trees he smashed her through.

"I won't...let you...have it..." Ruby coughed, staggering to her feet and gripping her shoulder. She must have injured it, or, rather, the man must have injured it. She labored to lift the Crescent Rose as she tried to concentrate through a. Possible concussion on getting her Aura up.

"Alright, listen," the man said, lifting his hands to show he was unarmed, "My name is Starlord, and I really, really don't want to hurt you. I mean, you're, like, my age, when I left my planet, and that was like fifteen years ago or something. And that gleam in your eye kinda reminds me of me. So I don't wanna hurt ya, but if I have to, I will. So, if you would just sorta tell me the location of the Stone or if you could give it to me, I would appreciate it, and I'm sure you will, too, since I'm not caving your face in with energy blasts. So, how about it? Give me the Stone or do I take it from you?"

Ruby grimaced and shook her head. The masked man sighed.

"Fine. I gave you the choice. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Starlord reached into his jacket, toward his hips, and whipped out a pair of guns that looked straight out of a video game. He fired, but as the orbs of energy closed in on Ruby, they slowed to a halt just in front of her face. Then, looking past the projectiles, Ruby discovered that Starlord himself had frozen as well.

"I just...I just stopped time...again?" Ruby looked down and used her good hand to fiddle around beneath her skirt to find the Stone and, surely enough, it glowed with its amber-colored light. As she retrieved it, several sickening cracks and a tear-inducing flash of white hot pain behind her eyelids signaled the repair of her shoulder.

"I hope this isn't doing something bad to me..." Ruby said as she stepped out of the path of the energy orbs. She approached Starlord, who, in the process of pulling the triggers again, was frozen in time. His mask hid his face well...and would protect it, if a large, metal scythe's flat, blunt side were to smash into it.

Unfolding the Crescent Rose and pocketing the Stone, she spun around, forcing herself to move faster and faster until she built up enough momentum to hit her assailant with the force of a truck moving down a hill at high speed. The force of the blow slowed her and negated the effects of the Stone, but for spectacular results.

To say Starlord went flying would be to say that a plane is fast; It was an understatement. He tumbled through the air and hit the ground several times, digging divots in the dirt each time he hit. He rolled and spun so he could get his footing, then stood up and drew his guns again in the span of a second. He fired shot after shot, but Ruby was fast. Faster than anything but that blur she and Blake met several days ago. She dodged the blasts with ease using her Semblance and then spun the scythe to point it behind her. Squeezing off several shots to propel herself, she sailed above, below, and between the blasts, closing her in on Starlord rapidly...

That is, until Starlord ducked, revealing a muscular, green-skinned, red-marked man that vaulted over him and placed a powerful punch in her chest.

 ** _—_**

" _Ruby_!"

Yang watched as the man who had fallen from the sky jumped over his crouched ally and smashed her sister so hard a sonic boom erupted on contact. As Ruby halted in midair, suspended thanks to the chiseled brute's knuckles, the Stone launched from her hand, dinging off of rocks and the dirt before bouncing straight up in the air and hanging there for what seemed like an eternity before making its trip back down.

Yang looked to the sky when she heard the noise again—the jets from that iron man who attacked her only a week ago. She whirled and spotted him, his red and gold suit doing him no favors to camouflage him against the backdrop of the blue sky above him. She fired several shots at him to distract him, and the Iron Man did a barrel roll away from the projectile and, consequently, the Stone. He missed by inches, and he swung wide, sending him too far from it to retrieve it before it plummeted back to the more trustworthy hands of Weiss.

"Good catch!" Yang shouted to the heiress.

"Thanks! We need to get the Stone away!" Weiss shouted, drawing Myrtenaster and flourishing it like a wand. Shards of ice and tendrils of flame conjured in the air before her, aimed straight at the armored assailant. The attacks zoned in on him and exploded, and he was knocked from the sky. He crashed to the ground several hundred feet away.

Weiss flicked two fingers on her right hand and created a glyph beneath her feet, and a glowing white wall formed around her to protect her from the incoming blasts from the Iron Man and the man who attacked Ruby first. Yang acted quickly and fired another round at the latter. He dropped to his knees, then rose back up and fired a blast at her after the shell skimmed over his head.

Yang gasped as she was hit with the blast. It felt like she just got hit with a hundred pounds packed into a tiny, superheated package. It carried her a distance of a dozen feet before exploding, slamming her into the ground and making a crater.

"Yang!"

She didn't know who cried her name. Was it Weiss? Blake? Ruby? She didn't know. She lay in the crater, disoriented for a long time before her senses came back. Well, some of them did. Like touch, and sight, and smell, and she tasted blood. But her hearing...that wasn't coming back. Of course, she never heard much when her Semblance activated. Her temper made her block out all kinds of sounds.

Like a Phoenix, she rose from the crater, smoking and smoldering. She staggered from the crater as the other three girls watched, as did the assailants. She walked with her shoulders slackened, arms hanging limp, head bowed, but then she stopped.

She almost chuckled to herself. These poor fools—did they have any idea how to beat a person who got stronger the more somebody hurt them?

So she straightened up, squared her shoulders, and snapped the crick in her neck, and she stared the men down with red eyes and a fire smoldering in her hair and heart.

With a deep breath, Yang threw her arms back and roared.

 _ **-—**_

"Sir, her power levels have risen tenfold!"

Friday reported this to Tony as he landed parallel to the blonde girl, who was huffing in rage. She uttered a battle cry that shook the ground and the metal of his suit.

"I know Veronica was designed for the big guy, but we're gonna need to make an exception here. Call up my tailor, I'm gonna need a new suit."

"What about us?" Starlord asked with the lord of literal, Drax the Destroyer, at his side.

"You guys handle the others. Blondie's mine."

With that, he blasted his repulsors and rocketed forward, toward the brawler. He smashed into her and closed his arms around her waist, carrying her skyward and away from the rest of her team, and his.

"Sir, Veronica's dispatched a suit! Ten seconds!" Friday reported as Stark rocketed upward with the blonde in tow.

"Then route all power to the unibeam repulsor, now!"

Releasing the blonde and letting her keep flying, Stark lost his own momentum and aimed, then fired a massive blast from the chest piece of his suit. Blondie sped into the atmosphere, until she was nearly out of sight.

"Veronica, where's that suit?" Stark asked, and in reply, he heard the sounds of the repulsor jets attached to the parts of the Mark XIV Armor.

The torso closed around him, then the legs attached to the torso. The arms attached to the shoulders with a clanging noise and whirring as bolts and hydraulics locked into place and the metal fingers flexed into fists. The dome-shaped helm closed over his head and locked into place.

"Mark XIV Suit, designation Hulkbuster, online, sir!"

The HUD lit up and Stark gazed through the helm's eyes to see the girl plummeting back down toward him. She was using the force of her gauntlet's projectile recoil to send herself straight at him.

"Disperse power! Stabilize!"

The repulsors of the Hulkbuster powered on and leveled the aluminum-alloyed behemoth in midair to face the oncoming airborne assailant. She roared another battle cry, this one even more fierce than the one she bellowed on the ground.

"Sir, she's gonna hit you with the force of—"

"The Hulk?"

"Multiply that by three and that'll probably give you a good estimate!"

"Shit."

Stark began to fly straight toward the girl. He knew this was risky—this chick was gonna be hitting harder than Hulk on a bad day—but his goal was to knock her out. He knew he wasn't gonna be able to just beat her.

The girl was closing fast and hitting a velocity so high that she was creating a cone of energy around her. She was close enough that he could see those red eyes clearly. She brought her fist down, but he swung his own upward to match it.

Stark had help from the Hulk himself to build this suit, to stand up to the Hulk himself. These armor pieces were designed to take blows equal to the force of a train accelerating down a mountain at a seventh degree angle. So watching the arm get torn apart by the girl's fist traveling through it like a determined foot through a sand castle, he knew just how powerful and dangerous she was and very well could be.

"Crap!"

The girl smashed into the helmet of the suit and held on tight, then began to throw punch after punch into the helmet, denting it repeatedly but caving the metal regardless.

"That's a vibranium-aluminum alloy we used for the helmet," Friday reported, "She's hitting it and denting it like it were just a thin sheet of steel, sir."

"Yeah, I noticed," Stark said, reaching up and ripping the girl away with his remaining hand, "I'm gonna need to arm myself again, Veronica, gimme a hand."

The blonde fought against Stark's hand and pried his grip from her body, then held onto one of the plates to deliver another limb-shattering punch that broke the arm in half.

"Make that two!" Stark said, swinging the legs down to slow his descent.

The girl wasn't shaken in the least. She dangled from the cables still attached to the suit whilst still holding the hand she just violently separated from its owner. She heaved it up and smacked his helmet with it.

"I swear to God, Blondie, if you tell me to stop hitting myself..."

The jets of the new arms signaled their arrival. Stark hastily detached the two metal stumps, dropping the girl along with them, and let the new arms assimilate themselves to the torso.

"Alright, Blondie, we're finished here!"

He swung his legs up and flew straight down, hand outstretched to snag the angry attacker in midair. He caught her easily.

"Friday, get all power to the thrusters! _NOW_!"

The hostile duo began to move fast enough that fire began to burn in a cone around them, showing just how fast they were moving.

"One thousand feet...nine hundred...eight hundred...six hundred fifty..."

Friday listed the countdown to impact as Stark descended, and the girl couldn't fight back as her arms were trapped in his hand.

"Five hundred...three fifty...one hundred..."

"Alright, Blondie..." Stark said as he whirled with a spinning twirl in midair, "Time to catch some Z's!"

He threw her to the ground, then brought his hands around again and triggered the rest of his weapons, firing a salvo of rockets, missiles, and repulsor blasts at her.

She was hit instantly, and she sped up so fast it was like she wasn't there. She hit the ground with an eruption of dirt the size of a rain cloud.

He slowed himself and landed softly on the ground beside the crater, looking into the cloud.

"No way she could have survived that," he said to himself, "I wish it didn't come to that."

"Stark! Stark, where are you?"

It was Cap. Tony answered the call. "Just finished some business here."

"Then get back over here! We're starting to get overrun!"

"There were only three, last I checked, and I just took out the fourth. Are they really that tough?"

"No! Well, yes! But they've got two other groups for backup! Get over here!"

Tony turned and began to lumber away when Friday said, "Picking up movement in the crater, sir."

He froze. After a moment, he turned and peered into the clearing dust.

There she was. Climbing to her feet was Blondie, bruised and bloodied, but alive, and pissed as hell.

"Holy hell," Stark went slackjawed as she simply wiped the blood from her mouth and lifted her fists into a combat position. She gritted her teeth and glared at him with a stone-cold gaze.

Cold, silent rage. The only form of anger more deadly than the fiery, wild kind.

"You." Blondie snarled, "You're gonna have to try harder than that."

"Uh, Cap? I don't think I finished that business as well as I thought I did."

She ran at him and swung a punch. In retaliation, he launched his own. Their fists met, releasing a sonic blast that shook the ground beneath them.

 ** _—-—-_**

Ruby had been mortified when Yang was carried into the sky by Iron Man, but it was short-lived as more and more of the latter's allies arrived to combat her, Weiss, and Blake.

"Ruby, we need a plan!" Weiss said as she and the other two girls backed themselves into a corner, cornered by the two assailants.

"I hit my distress signal," Ruby whispered, "I just hope JNPR and Sun's team can show up in time."

Suddenly, gusts of heated wind blasted against them, and out of nowhere a huge, black jet simply appeared, as if it just materialized from thin air. It landed in front of them, and a ramp lowered.

Four figures rushed down the ramp. One a curvy woman with red hair and a black formfitting suit. The spy, the one from the park. Another, a man in a similarly designed suit but instead with a vest and no sleeves, carrying a bow and a quiver. The third, another woman, this one also wearing something similar to the first's, but she had green skin and carried a sword.

Then, finally, was the man clad in red, white, and blue and carrying a round buckler-hoplon type shield of the same colors. It was him. The other man from her dream.

"Give us the Stone before somebody gets hurt," the man demanded, standing parallel to Ruby.

"Fat chance," Weiss piped in, "Somebody already got hurt."

"Then we will need to take it by force, and we know how to use force."

The archer stepped forward and drew the bowstring, arrow nocked and ready.

"My friend here, Hawkeye, can put an arrow in each of you before you so much as move," the man continued, "Make this easy on yourselves. We only want what's best for everyone."

"I've seen the visions," Ruby said, sounding much less sure of herself than she wanted, "I know what that Stone will do. I can't let that happen, or Remnant is going to get destroyed."

 _SHUNT_!

An arrow embedded itself in the tree behind Ruby.

Hawkeye nocked another arrow before the first one even hit its target. "For the record, I didn't miss," he warned. Ruby blinked.

"I won't say it again."

Ruby took a deep breath and looked around. Starlord on one side. Big pile of discolored muscle on the other. Pistol-wielding spy and archer surrounding them. The captain of the squad standing before her.

Wait, where was the green lady?

Blake gasped behind her, and suddenly the Faunus was in a chokehold, a strange-looking sword pressed to her throat.

"Blake!" Ruby cried.

"One more chance," the captain urged, "Give us the Stone."

Ruby looked Blake in the eye and saw the terror there. I can't let them do it. I have to give them the Stone.

The red reaper turned reluctantly to the heiress. The latter shook her head.

"No. Please, don't do this."

"We can't let Blake die over this."

"If we give up the Stone, she already has. Giving it up is a death sentence. For everybody."

"Weiss, _please_ ," Ruby said, and the heiress sighed and handed the Stone to Ruby. The Grimm reaper turned to the captain and took several long, shaking steps before placing the Stone in a small, round sphere in the captain's outstretched hand.

"Ruby, no!" Blake cried from her captive position, but Ruby released the Stone into the captain's orb.

"I can't let them hurt you over the Stone, Blake," Ruby responded with a sad frown, "I can't."

"Thank you, Ruby," the captain said, lowering the orb to his side, "This is in good hands. Everybody, move out and get back to—"

A loud gunshot rang out and the captain turned his gaze to face the source. He then blocked with his shield as the red-bronze javelin careened through the air and struck where his heart probably would have been.

This caused him to drop the Stone before he closed the container around it, allowing the gem to fall to the ground.

" _Ruby, the Stone_!" Weiss shouted, but Ruby was already diving for it. Just as her fingers came close, however, it, and the orb, disappeared.

Ruby hit the ground and rolled, then spun around.

Him. The blur.

Quicksilver.

"You didn't see that coming?" He tossed the orb up and caught it tauntingly as chaos erupted around them and Team JNPR and SSSN joined the fray.

"Pietro! Run!" The captain shouted behind Ruby as Pyrrha laid into him with her own shield and spear.

Quicksilver turned and took several slow steps before bolting.

" _NO_!"

Ruby scrambled to her feet and sped after him, matching his speed and leaving a red trail behind her.

 _ **—**_

"Stark! Stark, where are you?" Steve yelled as he engaged in a fierce melee with a red-haired girl in bronze armor and wielding a shield and spear.

"Just finished some business here," Stark answered nonchalantly.

"Then get back over here! We're starting to get overrun!" Steve angled his shield so the spear would glance off, but his foot was unable to reach the girl's face when he went for a high kick. She blocked the blow and forced him back.

"There were only three, last I checked, and I just took out the fourth. Are they really that tough?"

Steve staggered to his feet and blocked another incoming thrust. "No! Well, yes! But they've got two other groups for backup, and one took off after Pietro! Get over here!"

The Spartan dodged back as he went for a bash with the edge of his shield, then assumed a defensive stance, much like a hoplite would have in a phalanx, spear placed in one of the two semi-circular holes in the edge of the hoplon, which she held in front of her torso. Steve took up his own fighting stance and prepared for attack.

He did predict that the girl would attack using the javelin, but the thing extended into some ten foot long spear that the girl lunged at him with. He blocked, but it was a substantial blow enough that it turned him around a little, opening up a weak point in his defense. He felt the edge of the shield smash into his hip before he saw it.

Steve whirled, swinging his own shield haphazardly, and made a lucky hit, knocking the Spartan on her back. She kicked her legs up and spun like she was breakdancing, then placed her feet on the ground before taking up her hoplite stance again.

"You're good, I'll give you that," Steve said, lifting his fists.

"You are not half bad yourself," the Spartan said, "Shame you chose to attack my friends."

"They had every opportunity to choose the peaceful way out," Steve retorted, "But they didn't. So we took the Stone by force."

"I do not know what this Stone is that you speak of, but if you choose to harm my friends, I will harm you."

"Go ahead and try."

Steve threw his shield, aiming for the girl's chest, but she whirled and dropped to one knee in a single motion and brought her javelin to her shoulder. He watched as it shifted and changed into the shape of a semi-automatic rifle.

"Crap."

Before she could pull the trigger, however, the shield bounced off a pair of trees behind her and struck her in the shoulder, throwing her aim off and causing her to miss. Steve didn't miss a beat and charged forward before she recovered and leapt up, grabbed his shield from the air above her, and swung his leg to kick her. He missed as she rolled beneath his leg and spun to level the gun at him, then fired three more times, each round hitting his shield and ricocheting off. The girl performed a backward somersault and then entered a backwards cartwheel that turned into a back handspring, and the girl landed in one of the maple-like trees, crouched on a branch.

Drawing the rifle again, she squeezed off several more shots that, again, hit Steve's shield and bounced off. Steve took a deep breath to focus.

"Fighting Nazis didn't prepare me for this..." Steve muttered behind the cover of his shield. This girl...the only others who ever managed to last very long in a confrontation with Captain America were Red Skull and Ultron, but then, he was on even ground with them. This girl was something else entirely. He hadn't even managed to hit her directly, he just got lucky with a shield throw.

A loud, deep crackling noise erupted around him, and he looked up to see the sky darkening. Thunder rumbled and lightning sparked between the clouds as rain began to fall.

He stood up and faced the Spartan, whose rifle was still aimed in his direction.

"My backup's on the way here, you know," Steve said to the Spartan, "You guys still have a chance to run. My team and I won't go after you."

The rain was deafeningly loud, to a point where Steve had to shout. Somehow, though, the girl with the red hair and the striking green eyes spoke as if nothing was muffling her voice. In truth, nothing really was.

"You attacked my friends. How am I to expect amnesty if you cannot come in peace before promising you mean no harm?"

The girl lowered her rifle, distracted.

"Thor, _now_!"

A bolt of blue lightning lanced from the sky and splintered the tree the Spartan hid in. She had no counter for that but to jump, but Steve threw his shield and actually hit her this time, right in the side of her head with a loud _KLANG_! She hit the ground and lay still.

Steve stomped the edge of his shield as the Spartan lay unconscious in the wet, red grass. He caught it and stared down at the girl, whose temple now bled from the impact of the vibranium to her skull.

"I have not taken her life, correct?" Thor asked beside Steve as he landed. Mjollnir flew to his hand.

"No, you just hit the tree. I knocked her out."

"Good. I would prefer not to kill anyone younger than a quarter century," Thor said, "Father always frowned upon that. And Mother."

"We can't guarantee these kids' safety, Thor," Steve replied, looking toward the battle nearby, on the other side of the tree barrier between them and the Quinjet. "We need to get the Stone, no matter the cost, or the whole galaxy is done for."

Thor gave him a half-scowl. "Fine. Let us get to it, then."

 ** _—_**

Weiss parried the retractable longsword away once again as its blade drew near her face.

The green woman was as effective with a sword as Weiss, and with more power behind every slash. If it weren't for her Semblance, Weiss might have already lost this fight.

"Raaaahhh!" The alien woman roared as she brought the sword down again, but Weiss allowed the blade to slide harmlessly along the edge of her rapier. Amazingly, Weiss fought the woman with only one functioning eye; her scarred eye was still closed. Even she didn't understand why.

Steel met steel again, but Weiss buckled this time, choosing to dodge left and then feint right for a strike at the open side. Greenskin was fast in response and blocked with her blade pointed over her shoulder.

"You...cannot...win..." The woman grunted as the two locked blades.

"Just...you...wait..." Weiss said, and the woman wrenched the sword upward, releasing the blade lock and ripping Myrtenaster from Weiss's grip.

" _RAGH_!"

The longsword was close enough now that Weiss actually felt it open a gash across her chest, and hot blood glowed golden again, showing its corruption by the Stone in its unnatural hue.

"Agh!" Weiss yelped, thrown from her feet. She rolled several feet on the ground before she hit a tree and stopped.

"You cannot win. Give up while you still can, child."

Weiss got to her hands and knees, clutching her chest. She brought her hand away, soaked in the liquid gold that was her blood.

She staggered to her feet, searching for Myrtenaster nearby. It was stuck into the ground, standing straight up. She took a deep breath and looked at the woman.

She needed both eyes to see the woman. She needed to. This woman fought without honor, targeting injured weak points and exploiting weaknesses instead of giving Weiss a fighting chance. She would need both eyes to see the woman's movements.

So, she opened her scarred eye...and everything became discolored and strange.

Her surroundings were strange, the air a black fog, the grass and trees a strange, dim gold. The woman in front of her radiated red light, or at least parts of her did. Other parts were just that golden color, seemingly metallic, perhaps even robotic. Her longsword descended on Weiss, and she lifted her forearm to block. A glyph formed on the back of her arm, which glowed white. The sword struck the glyph and deflected off, causing a flash of white on impact.

Weiss shut her eye again, and her vision returned to normal. The glyph acted as a shield, which repelled her attacker, who was now recovering with a few breaths before she would soon continue her onslaught.

The Stone gave me new sight, Weiss observed mentally, perhaps I should use it.

Using her clockwork glyph, Weiss dashed past the woman and launched over her rapier, pulling it from the earth before landing on her feet and rising to resume her stance. The woman charged.

Weiss opened her eye again, utilizing her alternative vision once again with a sound not unlike a gust of wind on an ominous night. She saw the woman again—glowing red, certain parts not glowing almost at all—advancing rapidly. A plate in her dominant shoulder didn't glow—a weak point, a joint would lay beneath it.

Weiss spun the rapier to point at the woman, whose blade pointed to the grass, and glided toward her at high speed. She zoned in on that plate, the one metal spot on her shoulder that, despite being obviously armored, was a crucial part of the woman's body.

The tip pierced the metal like a hot knife through butter, causing the assailant to cry out and drop her blade.

That was the last nail in the coffin for the attacker. Weiss shut her eye and drew her now-bloodied rapier from the shoulder, spun around, and used her Semblance to accelerate a pommel strike right into the woman's temple. The woman attempted to perform a cartwheel, but failed due to the weakness of her shoulder and hit the ground. She writhed in pain and grasped her shoulder.

"Hurt my friends, I hurt you," Weiss rasped at the woman. She swept her gaze around at the battlefield.

Ren, in single combat against the archer. Sun battling with the masked assailant, Starlord. Neptune, Jaune, and Scarlet engaging the hulking man with the dark green skin. Blake, facing off against the redhead with the pistols.

Pyrrha, lying unconscious in the grass beside the multi-colored defender, his finger held against his ear.

"Where is Nora?"

Weiss whirled, searching for the giddy grenadier, but she was nowhere to be seen, and the sudden falling of rain didn't help. She searched for the bombastic bomber all around, and finally, she found her.

Nora stood with a maniacal grin on her face as she stared at a tall, familiar man in armor and a flowing red cape, on a rocky outcropping above. The temple attacker lifted his hammer to the sky and lightning struck the steel of the warhammer, coursing into the man's body.

"Nora...no!" Weiss yelled, but thunder muffled her protest.

The man lowered his hammer, roared a battle cry of his own, and unleashed the power of a storm into Nora's body.

—

 _Impossible_.

 _UNbelievable_.

"How..."

Thor gawked at the redheaded girl in front of him, the one with the warhammer and the ecstatic smile, as she absorbed his lightning.

"Hehehehehe!" The girl's familiar eyes opened wide as a toothy grin crossed her face, " _HAMMER TIME_!"

Thor just took a step back as magenta-colored electricity danced on her skin and she charged. She spun and leapt, aiming to smash him into the rock with a single downward stroke. Thor, acting quickly, spun his hammer and held onto the strap as he threw it forward, allowing him to dodge the literally earth-shattering power of the explosive hammer.

As the stones crumbled, Thor rotated so that he could see the girl.

She had orange hair. Light blue eyes, barely crossing the border into green. She was on the shorter side but built for power, and a figure not unlike...

Not unlike that of a woman Thor had met long ago.

He knew he recognized the eyes. The eyes of a woman who Thor had once called his love. The eyes of his first mortal love, who he never thought much of since his years as a glory-seeker.

The girl ran at him again, swinging the hammer wildly and actually hitting him this time. And, by Odin's beard, did she hit hard.

Thor found himself rolling as he pulled himself from the dirt and escaped from the explosive that hit the ground where he'd been before. He righted his feet and faced the bloodthirsty mortal above him.

Or, rather, Demi-mortal. No mere human could survive the Lightning he just arced into her body, but yet, she did. She had to be...

It was the only possible explanation. Stark was the only other being capable of withstanding his powers, and it required a metal suit to do it. And he believed he sired a child on this world, as well, though he couldn't be sure before, but now he was. This was...her. His offspring.

"Thor, I need some help here!"

Stark's distress call distracted Thor from his thoughts, and he asked, "What could you possibly require my aid in doing, Stark?"

"Blondie— _UGH_!—is _not_ happy!"

The sound of crunching metal sent static through the earpiece, and the transmission cut out. Thor returned to the fight at hand—no use letting this Demi-goddess advance on a less durable opponent.

And the emerald behemoth would likely kill her.

"What is your name, child?" Thor asked the girl above as she smiled mischievously.

"I'm Nora Valkyrie, and I am your doom! Hahahahaha!"

The girl cackled as if she were insane—perhaps she was, even. It wouldn't surprise him—she did not seem to have a grasp on how dire a situation this was.

"Nora, if you would, speak with me in a civil manner. I only seek peace."

It didn't take long for her to get to him. She just jumped from the cliff and landed in front of him, cracking the ground on impact. She still wielded her hammer.

"Talk fast, big guy, I wanna do some smashing!"

Thor lowered Mjollnir to the ground and left it there, leaving him unarmed. "I am Thor Odin-Son, of the realm of Asgard."

"And I'm Nora Valkyrie! I'm from Vale!"

"Yes, we established this," Thor said calmly, realizing all too easily that this girl would require verbal finesse to completely sway her. Or, none at all. "I see you are quite capable of enduring my power."

"Yep! Hit me again! Juicing up is fun, I just feel like I can just... _BOOM_ , you know?"

Nora punched the air, singeing the oxygen with the energy radiating from her hands. A side effect Thor had with his own powers when he was young.

"You wield a hammer, as do I," Thor observed, lowering himself to a cross-legged sitting position. "A girl after my own heart."

"Yup!" Nora was distracted now, her thoughts no longer on the fight, "My mom said my dad used a hammer, too. So I use one! Like my dad! And she says I have a lightning semblance like he did, and that's so cool to me and I think it's so awesome that I'm so much like my dad..."

Nora ranted on, forgetting about the battle completely as she spiraled into her own babbling, while Thor watched with increasing concern as the girl before him seemed to enjoy the sound of her own voice speeding up rapidly.

"You say you have not a father, yet your mother knows much of him?"

Thor interrupted the girl using his question, and she thought for a moment before saying, "Yes?" She appeared to be immensely confused.

"Perhaps I am the father whom you speak of, child," Thor said, trying to gauge just how long ago it was that he had visited this world. It was before he had given up his life as a selfish glory seeker, surely, long before that. Perhaps this girl's age was about the same span of time.

"Yeah! That would be soooo cool! Like, my dad shoots lightning, guys! It's totally shocking, huh? No, wait, that's Yang's thing. She's the one that makes the puns. Have you met her? You might have, I don't know, but she really likes puns, like that joke I just made about you being shocking, that's a pun..."

The yammering again. Thor wondered to himself how his blood created a daughter whose mouth was faster than the lightning he controlled.

"Nora, I propose something to you," Thor said, looking down at Mjollnir.

"Huh?"

"If you can lift my hammer, then I will have my team leave you alone. But if you cannot, you must have your allies cease fighting."

"Oh, games! I love games!" Nora dropped her hammer with a loud thump and clapped her hands together, then zipped over to the hammer.

She wrapped her fingers around it and pushed her legs down, but it did not budge, even a little. A relief.

"Wow, this thing is heavy. How do you lift it, pops? Do you have super strength, too, old man? Teach me, wise father, teach me to lift like you do so that I might hold your hammer!"

Nora was now bowing to Thor, albeit he was unsure whether it was meant to be mocking or not. Either way, his suspected daughter was not worthy. Whether or not it was a good thing, remained to be seen.

"Now, call upon your allies and ask them to stand down, and I shall do the same," Thor ordered, and Nora hopped up to her feet and whipped out a flat device, lacking any form of fluidity in her motion. She began talking rapidly into it while Thor did the same with his earpiece.

"Cease your fighting!" Thor shouted, "Cease hostilities!"

The gunfire and the clanging in the distance died out and went quiet, and Thor held out his hand for his hammer. The maul flew into his palm and he closed his fingers around the hilt.

" _Whooooooaaaaaaa_!" Nora's eyes practically sparkled at the sight, and her face went into overdrive, " _HOW DID YOU DO THAT I WANNA DO THAT BUT PYRRHA WON'T TEACH ME HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"_

Thor sighed. This was going to be a long day.


	8. The Tale of World War II

**Hi there! I am currently two chapters ahead of my postings, but I have been too busy to post during my study halls. So, sorry about that. I have decided to start pulling a few specific elements from comics and such. I like some of Tony's suits and other things from the comics that I guarantee won't appear between here and the end of Infinity War. So, imma use those.**

 **In addition, this week I may likely post twice, since I have six study halls. So, there's that. And that's actually it. So, have a nice time reading the chapter!**

"Thor, what is going on?" Steve asked the Asgardian as he drew near with a spunky redheaded girl in tow.

"I have found the daughter I spoke to you of, Captain," Thor said as the Avengers, the Guardians, and the group of sixteen, no, fourteen kids remained in a standoff, weapons pointed at one another. "This...is Nora."

Steve shot him a look of disbelief, then analyzed the girl who not five minutes ago tried to pound her "father" in the face with her hammer. Indeed redheaded, she had blue-green eyes and seemed to really like the color pink. She had a spring in her step that caused her to seem like she had literal springs in her shoes. Considering how high these kids could jump, it wouldn't surprise him. She held a hammer larger than she was.

"What?"

Steve twisted around to see the white-haired girl with the rapier narrowing her eyes at Thor and Nora, "Is that meant to make us trust you?"

"No, it is not, but I would hope that it would prove a good means of peaceful negotiation," Thor spoke back calmly to the girl, "Where is Pietro? Stark?"

"Stark is..." Steve began, searching around for the armored avenger, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Incoming!" Natasha shouted, and then came the sounds of gunfire, explosives, metal clanging, and trees being knocked down with excessive force.

Everybody threw themselves to the side just as the massive, hulking—or, rather, hulk-busting—frame of the Mark XIV armor smashed through the tree line with a tall, angry blonde pounding her fists into its face.

"Yang!"

Steve rolled over as the white-clad fencer scrambled to her feet and rushed to the struggling behemoth and the blonde beating him to a pulp, "Yang! Yang! Stop!"

The blonde girl just kept laying into Stark with her punches, and his suit was looking definitely the worse for wear. White jumped up unto his leg and ran up to the torso, putting a hand on the girl's back and seemingly whispering something to her. She put herself between the blonde and Stark's helmet, and the blonde stopped and stared at the other girl intently, almost as if she were hypnotized.

"Look familiar to anyone?" Clint chuckled nearby, but nobody laughed at the joke. Natasha gave him the stink eye. He shut up after that.

After a few moments of White whispering to Blondie, the two climbed off of Stark, who sat up and ejected from the Hulkbuster. Or, rather, what was left of it.

"You alright, Stark?" Steve asked the billionaire.

"Oh, yeah, don't mind me," Stark said, mockingly dusting himself off, "I just got in a fight with this planet's version of the Hulk, no big deal."

"Last time you fought the big guy, you won," Natasha sassed, getting to her feet.

"Hey, it's an off day for me."

"Steve," Cap looked toward the voice, whose owner was Starlord, "Gamora's hurt. We need to get back up to the ship."

"Not until Pietro gets back with the Stone."

"What?!" White shrieked, looking at Cap with an expression that might've meant she was upset, "You let the Stone get away?!"

"No, our guy has it, but your ally chased him off."

"You shouldn't have it, anyway," Blondie piped in, fists tightening. She did not look to be in a joking mood, but she was much calmer now than before, as long as she was at White's side. She must have been the one that Stark had been complaining about.

"Gamora's shoulder is damaged. She can't move it," Starlord insisted.

"Get in the Quinjet and patch her up, then," Steve ordered the leader of the Guardians, "We'll have Friday take a look at her."

"Actually, make that two," Stark muttered from in his suit, "I think Blondie chipped a nail."

The metal behemoth sat up, then rose to its feet. Stark began talking to his Irish AI and the suit began making strange sounds.

"We won't part with the Stone, _Steve_ ," White said, crossing her arms over her chest with the rapier sheathed in a metal loop on her waist, "Whether you like it or not. Just because our leader isn't here doesn't mean we can't make negotiations, aggressive or otherwise."

Blondie cracked her knuckles to emphasize her partner's meaning.

Steve grunted with a scowl. "Fine. We're willing to take you and your team with us to our ship so we can try to work this out, but we are taking the Stone with us for safekeeping. Anybody got a location on Pietro?"

"He will be here in..." Natasha acted as if she were checking her watch, which didn't exist, and snapped her fingers, "Now."

Sure enough, the Black Widow was right: a blur and a blast of wind signaled the arrival of Pietro, holding the Stone containment orb.

"Hey, there," Pietro panted, winded and hunched, "The short one is...right on my tail."

The same signs of Pietro's arrival accompanied the red reaper as she vaulted over the silver sprinter and snatched the orb from him.

"You...can't...have it..." Red coughed, looking as exhausted as Pietro. Blondie and White sidled up behind her, and then the raven-haired girl with the dual swords.

"We can talk it out. Come with us, to our ship," Steve attempted to persuade Red, sheathing his shield, "We can negotiate there. You four and us."

"We bring all twelve with us, or no deal," Black spoke, unexpectedly concise with her words, "I've been involved with enough meetings like this to know that you'll just outnumber us and beat us on your own turf."

Steve huffed before Clint leaned in behind him and said, "They're just trying to protect the Stone. It won't hurt to let them feel a bit safer."

"My plan wasn't to attack them."

"They're kids. They're worried, and if anybody knows how kids react in the face of a crisis, it's me. They'll be more willing to talk if they feel safe."

Steve harrumphed, but nodded in agreement. He turned his attention to the tenacious teenagers again.

"Fair enough. We'll take the Quinjet here to return to the ship."

Red pocketed the orb beneath her skirt and took a cautious step forward—and a rather jerky one, telegraphing to him just how inexperienced she was at being so careful.

She walked to the Quinjet and headed up the loading ramp, with Blondie, White and Black behind her. The girl Thor brought back with him, Nora, bolted inside behind them, chattering about how she found her dad. Four tall, strangely-dressed boys entered as well, one of them with a monkey's tail and another with blue hair, followed by the ninja-like boy with the pistols and the squire-esque boy with the sword and shield. He was carrying the Spartan, whose blood now streaked his chestplate.

"We'll get her to the infirmary," Steve reassured the boy, whose face indicated he was worried, "We can get her patched up, don't you worry."

He boy sighed in relief and took a seat on one of the benches within the Quinjet, holding the Spartan close.

"Let's get going, everybody, now. Sooner we get this done the sooner we save the world."

The Avengers, Starlord, Gamora, and Drax loaded onto the Quinjet save for Stark, who chose to fly in his giant suit, and the jet took off, returning to the Quincarrier.

"Mmmm...mmhmhm..." Cinder giggled to herself as she watched the scene unfold.

"The Stone is there, Cinder, why don't we take it?" The kill-happy kick-boxer Mercury questioned, gesturing to the tense congregation before them.

"Most of them would not be a problem," Cinder purred, still watching, especially the Huntress with the red cape, "But she, the one who wields the Stone...she could prove...problematic."

"Why? She's fifteen and inexperienced."

"Thanos warned me of her mother," Cinder looked at her two protégé, who were sitting on the branches on either side of her. "The daughter is of this world, born of it just as we are, yet half her blood is foreign. Strange. Alien. Her power is a match for the Maidens', or it will be soon, should she reach maturity."

"We can stop that from happening," Emerald suggested, "Just a bullet, aimed right between her eyes—"

"No."

The two apprentices lowered their heads.

"The blood flowing through her veins is not only that of a Remnant, but that of something far, far more ancient and powerful."

The red girl, Ruby, sauntered up into the plane guarded by the metal titan.

"Should we destroy her body, her soul will take the form of something much, much stronger, something whose sole purpose is to protect the Stone. Naught but Thanos can destroy it."

The plane was boarded by the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses, then it took off. The red-gold Goliath flew after it, ascending to the alien warship.

"Thanos has promised me said power, my precious wards, and I will have it. I need only to get him that Stone, and her power..."

Cinder held up a hand in which an acorn rested. It ignited instantly, the fire licking lustfully at Cinder's skin.

"Will be mine."

The ride to the "Quincarrier" did not take as long as was expected...nor did it fail to impress.

Ruby gawked at it like an idiot when it came into view. It looked like a giant naval ship, but with four rotary turbines, like the propellers on those old Atlesian airships, but pointing down and keeping it airborne. The warship had thrusters on the back that were currently at rest, indicating it wasn't moving. Its hull at the front side was mainly a window, and below that was a bay where a smaller airship might land. It had concrete and asphalt on the top, where it seemed like a fleet of airships would have landed, but it was painted like a street, which was odd. Was this thing a small city or something? A command tower rose proudly from the top, with a small spire at its peak.

Oh, and it was painted red and gold, which looked totally _sweet_.

Why didn't I think of that? Ruby thought to herself, glancing down at her Rosy.

"This, guys and girls," the archer, who was currently the pilot, began, "Is the Quincarrier."

The Iron Goliath—Ruby heard the captain say his name but she couldn't remember it—flew in ahead of them and landed on one of the smaller pads protruding from the landing bay. He strolled along the platform while mechanical arms disassembled the suit as he walked. Eventually, he was stripped down to his original, smaller size, but the arms kept going, dismantling him, too.

"Why are they taking him apart?" Ruby asked, pointing to the machines below.

"They're not taking him apart, they're taking his _suit_ apart," the archer explained without even looking, "He's rich, back on our world, Earth. Got captured by terrorists, forced him to make weapons for him. Crammed him in a cave and made him work. He enters selfish, narcissistic billionaire Tony Stark, wearing nothing but a suit..."

Ruby continued to be awed by the casualness of Tony Stark's motions as his suit was removed from his body without impeding his movement.

"And out came charitable, life-loving Tony Stark, wearing nothing but a suit."

Ruby grinned at the man below, dusting himself off and looking completely unharmed despite doing battle with her sister of all people. He even looked to be in a good mood.

The airship touched down in the hangar, where the landing ramp descended again. Everyone began slowly trickling from the airship, grouping out in front of the ramp. The masked guy, Starlord, was carrying the green woman, and he left to take her to the infirmary onboard the ship. The captain ordered Jaune to follow the other man there to get Pyrrha some medical attention.

"The rest of you," he turned to the group of ten, who all paid attention to him, "You can call me Captain Rogers. This is not a field trip. We are here to discuss the plan to handle the Stone, so do not cause mischief on this ship or we will have a problem. Understand?"

The remnants of Team JNPR, RWBY, and SSSN collectively glared at Sun, who shrugged and said, "What?"

"Understood? Good. This is Clint, Natasha, and Thor. Nora here is acquainted with him already."

"Hey, forgetting someone?" The man known as Tony Stark appeared between Ruby and Blake, hands raised in mock protest, "What am I, chopped liver?"

"At least some people like chopped liver," Captain Rogers sassed.

"Yes, Grandpa Steve, I know you like chopped liver. Gosh, I know you're seventy, but, my lord, Cap, how can you eat that stuff? Do you like frog legs, too?"

Captain Rogers snarled, but turned to Ruby. "If you would, I want to have Friday take a look at the Stone and see if she has any suggestions on where to keep it."

"Who is Friday?" Ruby asked.

"I am Friday, ma'am," a disembodied voice with a strange accent spoke from nowhere, "I am a language interpretation program designed by Mister Stark. I control the machinery on this ship and in Mister Stark's suits."

"Yeah, what she said," Stark said as he sauntered forward to stand at Captain Rogers' side.

Ruby was greatly intrigued by Tony Stark. He was eccentric, weird, humorous, and seemed like he took everything as something of a serious joke. He seemed like the kind of guy who put you on one side of the line or the other when it came to liking him or not. And despite him being the one who tried to steal the Stone in the first place, Ruby found herself on the side that liked him. Of course, he was an inventor, so she couldn't help but relate to him on that, too.

"Miss, the Stone?" Captain Rogers repeated, snapping Ruby out of her haze. She reluctantly brandished the orb in which the Stone was contained, but handed it to Rogers regardless.

"Thank you. You kids can run off and do whatever you want, introduce yourselves, whatever. But I have some guidelines here."

The group of five girls and five boys, save for Sun, it seemed, were now paying attention. At least most of them had a bit of respect for the host.

"One: you do not mess with any of the stuff on this ship no matter if you think it looks shiny or not. Two: do not be interfering in the affairs of anybody who you see, human or not. And three: do not, I repeat, do NOT, piss off Doctor Banner."

"Jeez, Cap, in front of the children?" Tony covered his ears and faked a wince, "You gotta learn to keep that tongue tied, Steve."

Cap huffed at him and walked away with Clint and the redhead following behind.

"Sorry, kids," Tony said, clapping his hands together, "Grandpa never had his nap today, he's a bit cranky."

"It's alright," Ruby said, noticing yet not caring that most of the rest of her team and the others were gone—Nora disappeared with the hammer guy from the temple, Weiss and Yang went somewhere, Ren followed Nora, and she had no doubt that Team SSSN was gonna be off doing something to get themselves in trouble. Blake slipped away, too, but she didn't know where. Being who she was, she was probably scouting the ship, looking for escape routes.

"He's old, he hates change," Tony said, walking toward a wide doorway one might have been able to fit a car through.

"He's old? He looks younger than you," Ruby said, then quickly added, "No offense."

"None taken. He's what us Earthlings call a "Vet," that is to say a war veteran. He fought in what we call World War II, back on my world."

"What's that? Did your planet have a war with another planet?"

"No," Tony didn't look at her as the two wandered through the corridors of the ship, "Our planet was at war with itself. Countries, attacking other countries. You see, there were these guys called Nazis in a country called Germany, where the Nazis, who didn't like specific people, such as everybody who wasn't like them, were kidnapping people by the millions and sending 'em to concentration camps."

"They just made the people work?" Ruby asked, enraptured by the tale of "World War II."

"No, the Nazis worked them to death. And if they didn't die from starvation or cardiac arrest or something, then they got locked in the gas chambers and poisoned until they asphyxiated."

Ruby continued to listen with great interest, undeterred by this awful detail.

"So, my dad and a German scientist started something called the Super Soldier program, to make the perfect soldier. The only real success...was Steve Rogers. Before that, he looked like you. Small, scrawny, weak, but after the serum, he became that guy you saw with the Stars and Stripes on him."

"Why'd you call him Grandpa, though? He doesn't look that old."

"I don't know the rotations of this planet around the sun or how long one of your years is, but on my planet, they last three hundred and sixty-five days. Cap is seventy five years old, at least. A Nazi who went by the name of Red Skull had acquired an Infinity Stone called the Tesseract, and Cap stopped him before it was too late. He got locked in ice for seventy years before a friend of mine thawed him out."

"Oh. You had a Stone, too?" Ruby asked the armorer as they neared a door and stopped.

"Three, actually. The Tesseract, the Mind Stone, and the Aether. Thor, the other guy you beat the crap out of at the temple, was the only one who actually had it out of all of us. The Tesseract is back on Earth, protected. One of our guys has the Mind Stone. You'd like him. He used to do Friday's job, but that's a long story. Starlord and his group got the Orb, the fourth Stone, which means you had the semi final Stone. Anyway, enough of that. This is my lab. You can come inside if you want, I won't stop you, just don't touch anyth—"

Tony didn't even finished his sentence before Ruby dashed into the lab and gasped in awe at the weapons all around her.


	9. The Mark L

**Hey, guys! Sorry about the deficit, lack of Wifi over spring break and whatnot. I'm actually posting off of my mom's hotspot this time, school WiFi is a little shoddy. Kinda random connection in the different rooms and stuff. Hopefully this doesn't take up too much data.**

 **So, I still can't fix the indentation problems. Sorry about that. Apparently dashes don't work anymore like they did before, which is stupid, but can't be fixed, anyway, so no use lamenting about it.**

 **I am quite tempted by the prospect of introducing Antman, but I'm not gonna since he is in Civil War, so I'm not gonna bring him in. Maybe next time. Other than that stuff, I have nothing much else to say, other than to ask you to enjoy this new chapter!**

 _(pretend this is a divider)_

"That's so _COOOOOOL_!" Ruby gaped, starstruck by the line of suits around the huge workshop. At first, it seemed like she was looking at things like the MK XLII or the MK XIII or something like that, but when he walked in and rounded the corner, he saw what she was looking at.

"Oh. That." Stark said, remembering the prototype he'd been working on recently that now stood as a hologram projected in the workshop.

"What can it do? What's it made of? How strong is it? How does it work? How—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, kiddo," Stark said, putting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair, "It's just a prototype. It's my fiftieth model of the Iron Man suit, but the idea of this one, though...isn't as easy as the other ones."

"Why? It just looks like a white version of yours, but the mask is shaped like the end of a shovel."

Stark looked at it again. He agreed; the face plate looked a little like a spade, yes.

"The thing is..." Tony began, stepping forward and bringing up different holo-screens to work with the hologram. He activated a simulation depicting its capabilities. "It's meant to be able to be converted into a smart metal that can turn to a liquid and form around me to change into the suit. I had another suit that split into pieces, but this one is giving me a heck of a challenge."

"Did you ever consider using Dust?"

Tony turned back toward Ruby, who seemed to be in a thinking mode. "Dust?"

"Yeah. It's this crystal stuff that has different things it does when you use it. My dad used to use it to freeze ice cubes or melt it by snapping his fingers. I used to think it was a cool magic trick, but he just uses Dust."

"Where can I get some of that?" Tony asked, hitting the holoscreens again and programming it with the function. A hologram of a silvery liquid flew through the air and formed around his arm, then formed the gauntlet.

"They've got some at every Dust shop," Ruby answered, "If you want we can go into town and get a bunch of it. My friend Weiss is kinda rich, I don't think she would mind if I bought some."

"If you do that, I'll...compensate you, somehow," Tony replied, and Ruby smiled.

"Thanks, Tony," Ruby said, "I don't know you very well, but you alien people seem really nice. I guess maybe I was wrong for trying to fight you."

"No hard feelings here," Tony said, "Except Blondie there. I'd like to get a few good shots on her. She broke one of my suits."

"Oh, Yang?" Ruby said, having bolted to one of Tony's older suits and was now analyzing it with great interest, "She's my sister. She's nice and friendly to me and my friends, but she doesn't like people that hurt others with no apparent reason."

Stark's eyes opened wide at that. "She's your _sister_?"

"Yeah. She fights like my dad, though. She likes punching because she gets hit more and her Semblance lets her absorb the energy from the attacks and then she uses it to make herself stronger."

Tony looked toward the hologram of the Veronica satellite nearby, realizing full-well that Hulk had nothing on this girl after she touched that Stone.

"She survived my most heavily armed suit," Tony remembered how Yang had punched right through the arm on his suit and put the Mark XIV into a state of severe disrepair, "I made that to deal with things _bigger_ than her."

"Really? She destroyed one of the Atlas military's Paladins in one punch once," Ruby chuckled, obviously enjoying a memory that was also a warning to Tony not to mess with Yang, "That was a couple months ago. I think the Stone made her stronger."

Tony sighed, looking at the Mark L, the "Endo-Sym" hologram prototype, and said, "I'm gonna need that new suit."

 _(Another one)_

"Are you alright?"

Yang asked the heiress before her as the two split off from the group.

"Are you?" Weiss returned the inquiry with concern.

"Yeah. It's gonna take a bit more than a giant suit to hurt me—"

"No. Are you _alright_?" Weiss cut her off, and Yang fell quiet. She tried to answer, but it seemed that her voice was uncooperative and her neck was locked up, because she couldn't nod, either. " _Yang_."

So she shook her head instead.

"I've seen you on a rampage before. At least you can usually stop when you know someone is defeated, but you kept going. You might have killed him if I hadn't stopped you."

Yang remembered it vividly. First, it was just blind, red-fueled rage. Then, she was pounding the already beaten metal man into the dirt, but then all the explosions and the violence dimmed and was shut out entirely, and it was only Weiss, and all the heat and hate dissipated, replaced by her and those icy, cooling eyes.

 _Dust_ , her mind was all out of whack lately, wasn't it? And Weiss, at the center of it. Weird.

"Yang, answer me. Are you okay?"

Yang jolted, lost in thought until the topic of that thought snapped her out of it. Except, this time, Weiss was holding Yang's face in her hands, and not preparing to slap her like she might have normally. Her hands chilled Yang's cheeks, but pleasantly, especially after that heated battle between her and the hulking metal man.

"Y-y-yeah, I'm fine, I guess, my Semblance is just a bit stronger now," Yang answered awkwardly, "What about you? Did the Stone affect you a lot?"

"Yeah. My scarred eye can see people's Auras and their essence. I used it against that green-skinned woman to hit her weak points. It is useful, but your temper scared me. You reached a level that I'd never seen you hit."

Yang reached up and took one of Weiss's hands. "But you calmed me down. You, for some reason, do something to me in a way that...my temper is soothed by you."

"Then I guess I need to stay nearby in case you fly into a rage like you did before."

"I wouldn't mind having you around more often," Yang said with a smile, to which Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Oookay," Weiss turned away, and Yang could've sworn her face turned red, "I've gotta go do something. Check on Blake, see what's up with her. She disappeared after we got here."

"I could come with you," Yang offered, but Weiss shook her head.

"No, I've gotta cool down after the battle, too, and I'm gonna try and check out the rest of the ship while I'm at it. Just in case these people turn on us."

"A-alright," Yang stammered, "Just...just come let me know if you find anything. Or Ruby. But I wouldn't push you away if you had anything to say."

Weiss just nodded and walked away, rounding the corner of the aisle, her knocking footsteps fading away.

Yang sighed, throwing her arm in frustration as she remembered what she said to Weiss before. She was basically flirting but not flirting, but it had to be just an attempt to be friendly toward her friend Weiss, who was her friend. Just her friend.

 _Right_?

"What is wrong with me?" Yang groaned, shaking her head with her hands on her hips.

 _(Another one)_

"We can't have all the Stones in one place, Cap."

Bruce said this as he stood a decent distance from the Captain and Starlord.

"What are we supposed to do with it, then?" Steve said, "We can't give it to S.H.I.E.L.D because the main facility got broken into, so our security isn't up to spec, we can't give it to Asgard because they've already got the Tesseract, The Aether is who knows where—"

"And the Orb is with the Nova Corps," Starlord finished.

"Perhaps this place is the safest place for the Stone," Banner suggested, pacing back and forth a little bit, "They've got some serious firepower here, and they've got academies to train warriors that could rip apart the ones we have on Earth. Some of them literally. I think we should give it back to those kids and have them give it one of their headmasters."

"Last couple of times I saw people get ahold of the Stone, one of them was destroyed and the other nearly blew up a planet with it out of spite," Starlord answered back, "I'm not sure I like that idea."

"That's the only option we have, Starlord, whether we like it or not. We need to get rid of it here and keep it distant from the other ones. We had to use a portal to get here. That means it's pretty far away from the other two we've gotten ahold of."

"What about the red guy? His gem isn't too close to the others?"

"Vision is fine," Cap watched out the window, observing the massive warship floating in the distance as it hovered ominously over the red forest below, "If anybody shold have the Mind Stone, it's him."

"As long as... _that_ , is here, I don't feel like it's a good idea to keep it on this olanet. Not while Thanos is there."

"Is it possible to get rid of him, somehow?"

"No."

The three men whirled to see the girl with the bow in her hair, the one Gamora held hostage, standing at the door, but it never opened.

She had been in the room the whole time.

"I've seen visions of...him. He will stop at nothing. He's too powerful. You need to take the Stone away from here."

"Isn't the short one your leader? Why don't you send her in here and have her help us make a plan?" Starlord retorted.

"Because she's foolish, and naive!" The girl snapped, fingernails digging into her palms, "She's too young, too innocent to know just what a maniac will do if you leave his goal within his reach."

"And you would?"

"I know just as well as any of you that a lunatic like him will achieve his goal even if it costs him everything but his life. You have to take the Stone away. Get it somewhere else. Please. It can't stay here, or he'll...he'll..."

The girl had her jaw clenched and her eyes shut, disturbed.

"Okay," Cap said, putting a hand on her shoulder when he drew close, "We'll try to get it off-world. Starlord, any ideas?"

"Well, we could always give it to the Nova Corps and let them find a place to hide it and protect it," Starlord suggested, "Or maybe the Kree. Except for that radical asshole, Ronan, they all seem okay, and they're about as well armed as the Nova Corps and Xandar. Maybe we give it to them."

"Please, just find a place to send it and get it the Dust out of here," the girl pleaded, looking extremely anxious, "And don't tell my team, they'll just get worried and try to take it from you."

"I understand. It's getting dark. How about you go and find the bunk room and get some sleep?" Cap looked out at the dark of night. It was true; the sun was setting, and that weird, shattered moon hung in the sky like a broken ornament.

"Yeah," She nodded, "I think I'll do that. Thank you."

Cap nodded and the girl left, the door closing behind her.

 _(One more)_

The green light gleamed on the golden fingers of the Power Glove as its owner tapped them in boredom on his throne's armrest.

"Thanos, we have discovered the location of the Infinity Stone," the mortal woman named Cinder Fall reported as she appeared before him, "It is in the possession of the ones known as Team RWBY and their newfound allies."

"Ah, yes, the Avengers, and the Guardians," Thanos's throne slowly rotated to face Cinder Fall, "Two thorns in my side that fight back when you attempt to remove them. But in the end, a thorn is exactly that: a thorn, nothing more. Easily extracted, ultimately futile as self defense."

"They have a Stone, Thanos," Cinder said, "Perhaps we should not underestimate them."

Thanos's throne lowered so he could step to the levitating stone stairs below him. His giant, golden, greave-clad feet shook the earth as he walked.

"I do not doubt you, Cinder Fall," Thanos, lifting his fist and looking at the glowing green gem on the back of his hand, "But I should think you would not doubt me, either. They are not the only ones with an Infinity Stone."

The Mad Titan showed Cinder the back of his hand. She seemed surprised.

"That is an Infinity Stone?"

"The Reality Stone, a gift from my love, Death herself, as a token of promise," Thanos explained with a devious grin, "A promise that should I destroy this world using the two Infinity Stones, she will allow me to take her as my bride. I will become the new God of Death, and I have never failed to succeed at my goals. I do hope the same of you, Cinder Fall."

"I will not fail you, Thanos, but I expect the power within the girl to be mine all the same."

"Should you fail, Cinder Fall," Thanos turned his back away and spoke without facing her, "The only thing you have earned is a slow, painful death, and that, I think, is my love's preferred method for those who fail."

Cinder did her best not to show her fear of the Mad Titan, who currently was treating her the same way she typically treated her own underlings. Except that, unlike her, Thanos was homicidally insane.

"You will retrieve that Stone, Cinder Fall, or the only thing you will be retrieving is your innards from the rafters."

He returned to his throne and rose away from the ground again, facing away from Cinder and inspecting his gauntlet's socketed Infinity Stone. The woman turned on her heel and strode from the strange, spacial room that Thanos treated as his throne room. She immediately found herself in a white-washed hallway with the peculiar, armed creatures known as the Chitauri standing guard outside. Standing between them were Emerald and Mercury.

"What's our next move, Cinder?" Emerald asked.

"We return to base and devise a plan to obtain the Stone," Cinder said, putting her vile grin on, "And then Thanos will reward me when we have taken it from the clutches of everyone onboard that ship."


	10. First Flight

**Hey, guys! Here we are again, with the weekly Gods chapter!**

 **So, again, last week's chapter got yet another comment on the fact that there are no dividers. I will say again:** ** _THE DIVIDERS DO NOT WORK_** **. All I can do is use sentences with parentheses to divide paragraphs.**

 **I think I should be able to post once a week now as long as I'm going to school when I have study halls. Also, did anybody watch the premier of RWBY Chibi? I wanna watch it but I have to reserve that for study halls, lIke everything requiring wifi. So before I choose to expend my time, how is it? Is it fun?**

 **other than that stuff, I hope that you enjoy the new chapter! P.S. I might now use Ant-Man in this story because I was disappointed by how shortly he appeared in Civil War, so you might expect to see him sometime! Enjoy!**

 **(O-o)**

Much like Tony himself, Ruby also had the ability to go without sleep much longer than the rest of the crew, who were currently sleeping in the crew quarters. But an edge that Tony had lost and Ruby still possessed was, with youth, one could become more energetic the deeper into the night they went.

Tony liked Ruby. She was actually rather intelligent, much more in terms of weapons and armor than his programming knowledge. She claimed that she knew the most about that stuff out of a lot of other people in her academy, which she referred to as Beacon. The majority of her group was of Beacon origin, but four of them were students of a different academy. Ruby herself seemed to be an expert of all things that might have come out of a blacksmith shop back in medieval times all the way up to what Stark Industries cranked out years ago, before it became a force for good. She even one-upped him when they were co-designing the Mark L's weapon systems.

"Put extra repulsors or lasers on the fingers," Ruby suggested after the two were in a conundrum about how to upgrade the weapon systems and make the repulsors more precise, "A smaller repulsor will create a thinner, more intense beam, and with only half the power."

"How did you become such an expert in this stuff?" Tony asked the girl, realizing full well that she was right and acknowledging it, "Even I don't come up with this stuff, and they called me the Merchant of Death because I _COULD_ come up with this stuff."

Ruby laughed. "I've been studying weapons and stuff like that since I was little. My uncle used to call me Ruby Wrenches when I was younger because I was so handy with fixing stuff, but I always loved weapons. I don't remember my mom well, but I do remember loving hers the most after my uncle's, and then there was my dad, and my dad inspired my sister to make her weapons."

"Was he a boxer?" Tony asked, programming Ruby's suggestion into the Mark L hologram, "Your sister hits hard. I made that suit to deal with Doctor Banner's "Green Giant Before a eating a Snickers" mood, but your sister moved through my suit like...like a giant green rage monster through a wall made of melting butter. You'd be surprised how often that actually happens, by the way."

"Dad was kind of a boxer, I guess," Ruby said, turning around and walking around the room, checking out the different suits standing around the lab, "He used armor, like you, but his wasn't so focused around flying and lasers. He had these little jets in his knees, elbows, boots and knuckles so he could use them to hit you harder by accelerating his limbs during an attack. He liked to tell us about how he punched a Nevermore to death. Maybe you should do that with your armor. With the jets in the joints, I mean. Not punch a Nevermore to death. That would take a while."

"Way ahead of you," Tony shipped his hand across the holographic screen again, incorporating a possible design for later use, "How does your sister hit so hard? I was fighting her with the Mark XIV and Friday's readings kept saying her strength was amplifying tenfold every time she got hit. And what is a Nevermore?"

"Oh, that's her Semblance," Ruby explained, stopping in front of a smaller, more feminine suit that was silver instead of gold. "With her soul, she can absorb the energy from any attack and get stronger from it, and I think because of the Stone, it made her Semblance stronger. What's this suit?"

"What about it?" Tony said without looking.

"It looks like a suit that a girl should be wearing," Ruby said, putting a hand on the helmet, "Or can you Earth people turn into girls at will?"

"Very funny," Tony said, "That's what I call the "Rescue" suit. I made it for my girlfriend a long time ago, but I don't think she would want it, anyway. She isn't the violent type. Want something to eat, take a break?"

"I like it. If I was your girlfriend, I would be happy to take it."

"Don't say that, I don't need that image in my head," Tony glanced sidelong at her, making an odd face, "We have a guideline on my planet called the age of consent, and I would like to follow it in as many ways as possible."

Ruby continued to analyze the suit. It was taller than her, probably about as tall as all of Tony's other suits except the Mark XIV, the giant one that he used to fight Yang. It was definitely designed for the female form, as opposed to the masculine frame the others possessed. It looked comfortable, too. Ruby felt like she wanted to put it on, but it was too tall for her.

"I know what you're thinking, Ruby," the Armored Avenger said behind her, "The answer is no. It will take too long to mod the suit for you to fit."

Ruby looked down to the boots and gauntlets. "How about the limbs?"

"Huh?"

"The limbs. Can I try on the gauntlets and the greaves? I wanna try them."

Tony seemed to seriously consider for a moment before saying, "Friday, detach extremities from Mark MDCXVI."

"Yes, sir! Detaching extremities from suit, codename: Rescue!" Friday replied, and within seconds the gauntlets and greaves detached from the Rescue suit. The parts extended from the frame with small, mechanical arms, offering them to her.

Ruby held out her hand, and the corresponding gauntlet closed around it, the metal plates bending and folding around her fingers and wrist and elbow flawlessly. The other did the same, fitting comfortably around her hand and forearm. The greaves molded around her boots and smartly adapted to the shape of them, the plates and parts closing around her calves and shins, all the way up to her knees. She didn't even feel off balance in them like she expected. She looked down and was glad to see that the greaves weren't fitted with some high heel platform of some sort. She held up her hands, palms facing out.

"Don't! Don't do that!" Tony said, holding up his hands toward her, and she lowered hers, "That's how you fire the repulsors. Those ones are more sensitive because they're made for hands like yours since they're smaller. Now, don't, please don't, shoot anything I don't tell you to with those. Okay?"

Ruby nodded, keeping her hands down and trying to keep herself from grinning. She mimed the stance that Tony did when he was hovering in his suit, and just like that, the repulsors in the soles of the greaves and the palms of her hands fired up and she began to hover. After a bit of clumsy maneuvering that nearly sent her into the wall, she managed to stabilize herself in midair, giggling giddily.

"Don't stay up there too, long, Ruby," Tony warned, watching her carefully, "Those pieces only have a small amount of reserve power each. You'll burn it up quick, flying like that."

"Okay," Ruby said, adjusting slowly so she tipped forward and flew in that direction before swinging her arms around and slowing her momentum mid-flight.

"It's the cape," Tony commented to the airborne inventor as she demonstrated a graceful turn, "It's gotta be that cape. That's why you're so good at it. Unfair advantage! I call a penalty! Loss of ten yards!"

"You're just jealous that a girl beat you at the game you built," Ruby laughed as she flew down and dropped in a kneeling pose in front of Tony before standing up and poking an armored finger in his face.

"Beginner's luck."

Ruby chuckled and returned the parts to the Rescue suit. "I'm almost tempted to keep them. Those are fun. Just imagine how fast I could go with that extra boost! I'd be unstoppable!"

"In your dreams," Tony sassed, returning to the Mark L hologram.

"In your face," Ruby tittered.

Just then, a loud knock interrupted the two weapon masters and the door opened.

"Hey, Yang, what's up?" Ruby asked her sister, who looked worried when she stepped inside the lab.

"Have you seen Weiss?" Yang inquired with some concern in her voice, "I can't find her."

"I haven't seen her since we got off the airship."

"The Quinjet," Tony corrected despite how little he mattered to the conversation at hand, "Airship sounds cooler, though. Sorry, continue."

"I need help finding her," Yang murmured, looking for the first time as if she were in need.

"Okay, let's go find her," Ruby said, then turned to Tony. "I'll probably be back. I just need to take care of something."

"Go ahead," Tony began, "I'll just keep plugging away at my new suit. Without help. Alone. Solo."

The sisters ignored his joke and walked out of the lab, the younger leading and the older following.

(O-o) _divider_

"We found the Stone, Nova Prime, ma'am," Peter reported to the holographic projection before him, floating on the holotable inside the Milano, "But another group is going after it, as well."

"What of this other group?" Nova Prime asked, "Kree? Ravagers?"

"No, ma'am," Quill said, "Terrans. Like me. A group of them, and then a third group acquired it."

"More Terrans?

"Just natives, but they're dangerous," Quill elaborated, leaning on the table, "My team is working with the Terrans right now. They call themselves the Avengers, and they seem like they have the same intent as we do. We have the Stone now, but we don't know what to do with it. Got it back yesterday."

"Take it here. Those were your orders."

"I know, but can I make a suggestion?" Quill rose from the table, "The Avengers have handled three Infinity Stones already, and all of them are spread out away from each other so they can't all be nabbed at the same time. It might be smarter not to bring this one to Xandar. Maybe we should leave it here, under the planetary military's protection. Supposedly, theirs is a match for yours."

"If you can convince me change my mind, then I will wholeheartedly support the decision to let it remain on that planet. I leave those details to you, Starlord. Good luck."

The hologram shut down, leaving Quill alone in the Milano comms room.

He knew the native girl with the bow on her head was concerned about Thanos, but judging from experience with Ronan, the worst idea is to leave the Stone in a little ship with a little crew on the way to a more protective planet. The best option was to have those kids bring it to their headmaster or the general of their military. At least then it would be placed in likely defensible hands with little risk of being intercepted.

 _Ugh_ , he thought, saving the universe is hard. This was his second go at it, too. He should have expected it.

A sudden sound not unlike something falling on the floor downstairs pulled Quill from his haze and he rushed to open the hatch and heard the sound of...

"Hey, who's playing my Blue Swede?!"

He rushed down the stairs, fully realizing that in current company he should probably have his energy blasters with him but not wanting whoever it was to continue possibly damaging his radio or his cassette tapes.

Of all the people it could have been—Rocket, Drax, Groot, maybe even Gamora—it was none of them. Instead, it was a thin, delicate girl with a pale skin tone and white hair. She seemed intrigued by the radio until he came into her view, after which she froze like a Quanaxaryan deer in a hunting spotlight.

"Hey, how did you get down here?" Quill asked, rushing to the radio and turning it off, "And why does everybody think my radio is so amusing?"

"I'm...I'm sorry, sir," White Hair apologized, "I didn't mean to trespass, I'm just searching for my friend. I haven't seen her since yesterday."

"She the one with the bow on her head?" Quill asked, "She was in the bridge of the ship last night. She was asking us to hide the Stone off-world."

"What?" White gasped, eyes going wide, "Blake would never do that. She thinks we need to keep the Stone here. She can't, she's one of us. We have to agree. We already do."

"Well, that's what she said," Peter said, to which White began to walk to the stairs in a rush. Quill stopped her by saying, "Wait."

"What is it?" White faced him, looking like she was angry, but not with him.

"Sit down."

White did as she was told, returning to her place across from Peter.

"My name is Peter Quill. I understand your insecurity about that Stone. I do, I really do," he began, trying to sympathize with her, "And I am glad you and your friends are protecting it so fiercely. I think you girls were doing a great job. That guy, Steve, he's good at heart, but he thinks that he and his team are the best guardians of the Stones."

"I thought you weren't part of his team."

"I'm not," Peter confirmed for her, "But I look at him and I want to like him. He's patriotic to his country and if any one word were to describe him, it would be "goody two-shoes." I realize that's three words, but two of them are hyphenated so it only counts as two technically. Which is more than one. But still."

"What is your point, Quill?"

"I'm saying give us a chance to help you. I know how distrustful you are of us, but I think we can change that. I want to keep the Stone here. So do my friends."

"Don't you want to take it away from here and hide it?" White asked, narrowing her eyes, "You tried to take it from us by force."

"After seeing what an Infinity Stone is capable of, I think the best place to hide it is behind a wall of strong, good-hearted people. The Nova Corps is exactly that, and so are the Avengers and the "Asgardians" or whatever. You and your group are, too, all twelve of you. Sure, you guys disagree about where the Stone needs to go, but in the end, I think the safest hands to hold this Stone are yours."

White smiled, suddenly looking glassy-eyed and the rage displayed on her face dissipated. She got up, crossing her arms around her waist, and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Quill rose, checking his radio and switching on his music again at low volume. "Good luck finding your friend."

White began ascending the steps again, but halfway up she stopped and turned her head. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"What was that song? Blue Swede?"

"Hooked on a Feeling, by Blue Swede. My favorite song."

"I like the lyrics," White commented, "They're helpful."

"How come?"

White was quiet for a time before she broke out of her thoughts. "I suppose it helps me make up my mind a little more."

"I can ask that guy Tony to get some of it for you to listen to. I think he could do it."

"Yeah," White smiled, "I'd like that."

"What's your name?"

"Weiss," the girl said, beginning her ascent once more, "My name is Weiss."

(O-0) _Divider_

So, as it turned out, after a ritual known as a "blood test"—which, in Asgard, would have been referred to as "ancestral scrying"—Thor discovered that Nora was, in fact, his daughter. Of course, in order to do it, Bruce had to give her a drink with a tranquilizer to put her in an unconscious state. This meant she had spent much of the past sixteen hours unconscious, including her time sleeping in the secondary bunk-room last night.

"She's borderline insane, Thor," Bruce said, crossing his arms over his chest, "I think she might even have a disorder, or a retardation."

"Your Earthen words are not of the Asgardian vocabulary," Thor replied, lifting his arm from the armrest and rubbing the inside of his elbow, "Elaborate."

"I'm saying her brain isn't right," Bruce explained, looking at the unconscious redhead in the chair nearby, "I don't think it affects her too badly, but on Earth we tend to refer to it as ADHD. I don't think she really has a mental filter, either."

"ADHD?" Thor wondered aloud. "Is her heritage to blame?"

"She's easily distracted, but it isn't really her fault, her brain just doesn't...focus, on things. She's hyperactive, which is a common symptom, and then she's excessively curious. I'm confused as to how the stoic Thor gave life to...her. It isn't genetic."

"I am unsure, as well," Thor observed Nora sleeping soundly and peacefully in the chair, then turned and faced the smash-happy scientist, "But I was not around for her upbringing. I believe her behavior reflects this. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. I wish only that I had sooner learned my lesson in being worthy."

"You can still hold your hammer, so you're still worthy," Bruce observed, to which Thor nodded.

"Yes, but being worthy of wielding the hammer is not being worthy of fatherhood."

"I think you should make up for lost time."

Thor turned and looked at the sedated stranger in the chair again. Or, rather, his daughter.

"No better bonding than introducing her to Grandpa."

Thor whipped around and looked at Bruce with an expression that said, "You're kidding, right?"

"My father Odin would be furious should he learn of my affairs among the mortals," Thor stated in a steely tone, his face serious beyond compare, "And for that I would fail to be worthy in his eyes."

"So you have a choice: stay worthy to your father? Or prove to your daughter that you are the father she hoped for?"

Thor sighed. Father had changed much recently, probably due to the deaths of Frigga and Loki, and had become far more caring as of late, and much more tolerant. Perhaps he would prove merciful despite his son's previously unknown transgression.

"I will bring her to Asgard come nightfall," Thor announced, "I have yet to receive word from Heimdall of a possible threat to Asgard I warned him of after Ultron was destroyed, and soon Odin will be unveiling the memorial to my mother and to Loki. I will tend to both."

"Well, make sure you bring her back," Bruce added, "I'm sure her friends would be none too happy if you left her in Asgard."

"Yes, Father," Thor sassed, surprising Bruce with the fact that the Asgardian was _capable_ of sarcasm.

The Mighty Avenger approached Nora and lifted her from her chair, taking advantage of her unconsciousness to move her to a spare bunk in the crew quarters. He bid a quiet goodbye to his friend and ally and headed off to the bunk room with Nora in tow.


	11. The Mad Titan's Plan

**Oh, my god, is that what I think it is? Yes! It is a new chapter after four weeks without one!**

 **My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, things have been quite hectic, what with school ending and graduation. School ended, depriving me of my previous source of connection. But, fortunately, I now have a house with unlimited now, so now I will be capable of posting more often once again. Exciting isn't it?**

 **I apologize if this chapter is a little lower in quality than usual, I've not had much time to work on this. Graduation and such, and college proceedings.**

 **Other than that, I've nothing else to say but to enjoy and to look forward to more consistent posting for at least the next couple of months!**

 **P.S. Dividers still don't work!**

The temple grounds were completely deserted. Not that it was such a problem, of course, even if they weren't; a hand gesture was enough to kill with the Power Glove.

Thanos approached the steps with his newest disciples flanking him. Cinder Fall stood vigil. Emerald Sustrai and her keen thief's eyes watched around. Mercury Black, the arrogant boy who fancied himself an assassin, remained lax as always. The masked lieutenant carrying a primitive tree-cutting tool for a weapon.

But of all of them, the most fascinating of them was the being known as Adam Taurus.

He was a determined man, one with a focus on the destruction and enslavement of humans, and the rule of the Faunus. A man after his own heart. If not for his shortsightedness, Thanos might have extended him the opportunity to become his right-hand man—Death knows he needed one after Ronan the Accuser killed his last one.

"This is the temple, according to our agent's information," Cinder reported, speaking of the one named Neo, the infiltrator, "The one the Soul Stone was acquired from."

"Good," Thanos said, "Then its defense system is here, as well."

Cinder seemed surprised. An appropriate reaction, given her circumstance.

"Defense system?"

Thanos grinned maliciously. "The defense system is designed to retrieve the Stone should it be stolen...with efficient and destructive results. It is several millions of your years old, unfortunately, so it did not activate as it should have due to degraded sensors."

"How far into the temple do we need to go to get it?" The assassin Mercury asked. Thanos shook his head.

"You mortals always believe there is a distance to be traveled to acquire some small, trivial thing, a sword, a shield, perhaps," Thanos stated, casually lifting his gauntleted hand and inspecting it, "But sometimes you discover that there is no path, and thus you call the quest a failure. No. This defense system is not within the temple. It is not even a weapon. It is a creature, beneath it."

The Mad Titan reached his palm out and the Reality Stone glowed brightly, and before the very eyes of each of the mortals atop the path, the temple itself rose from its foundations...

And then exploded into its thousands of individual pieces, the bricks scattering like dust in the wind.

"Why did you..."

"The temple was the failsafe trigger of the defense system," Thanos explained, "Destroy it, and the defense system activates regardless of the presence or lack thereof of the Soul Stone."

He smiled maliciously and watched the giant, ancient behemoth rise from the depths of the temple, its body made from technology that existed far before the creation of Remnant...or any other planet, and far more advanced than any that existed today.

Thanos held out his hand to the mechanical beast, the Reality Stone glowing again. The metal monstrosity raised its many tentacle-like arms and pulled itself from the foundation of the temple it resided beneath, looming over Thanos and his group.

"Oct, the guardian of the Soul Stone," Thanos bellowed, holding up his gauntleted fist, "I am Thanos, and I wield the Reality Stone! Your Soul Stone has been stolen!"

The goliath, Oct, lowered its pod-shaped head and opened a huge, red eye.

"Zithros olokir frew Stohn Infinitu?" It spoke in a loud, heavily processed voice, and in a language that none alive today had ever heard. Except Thanos and the Asgardian All-Father, Odin.

"What?" Emerald asked, but Cinder hushed her with a glare.

"Your Stone is in hands that seek to destroy this world with it," Thanos claimed in a blatant lie the machine didn't pick up on, "I wield this Stone for the sake of saving the planet."

"Ariss quor frew Stohn Infinitu?"

"It currently resides in a nearby city," Thanos fibbed through his teeth, but Oct failed to notice, "I know not where. It may be at the center of the city."

"Torve erlos, Thanos," the creature known as Oct seemed to thank Thanos, but nobody could understand the language it spoke in, "Uas ferdas frew Stohn Infinitu."

Oct rotated and returned to its hole in the ground, hidden completely from sight.

"What did it say?" Emerald asked the Mad Titan.

"It said it will find the Stone," Thanos translated, "Oct will hunt for it tonight, but when it does, you will go take the Stone from the warship while Oct is destroying the city and occupying the ones in control of it. When the Soul Stone is within my grasp, you will have your power, Cinder Fall."

"What do we do until then?" Mercury asked.

Thanos turned and walked back into the woods where his ship resided. "You wait."

 ** _(Pretend this is a divider please because I can't actually use one)_**

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled across the hangar yet again in the fifth hour of searching for her partner. It was midday at this point.

"Where are you, Weiss?" Yang shouted, climbing atop a shelf and nearly knocking something off of it in a bid to get a better view of the rest of the massive hangar, "Weiss!"

"Where did she go after you talked to her last?" Ruby asked her sister for the ninth time.

"She went searching for Blake earlier this morning, but, again, none of us have seen her since we got here."

"Not even Sun?" Ruby wondered.

"Even he hasn't seen her. Either of them. I know, I asked him."

Ruby pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "Hide-and-seek champions, those two."

"May I help you with something?"

The two girls turned to see the source of the accented voice and were shocked by the man they met. He was about average height and wore a green suit with a golden cape and he seemed as if he didn't actually walk there, but rather he simply appeared in that spot, but that was hardly the most defining part of him. That role was taken up by his red skin and the big, yellow gem embedded in his forehead, above which he was bald.

"Is that a..."

"An Infinity Stone," the red man informed the younger sister, "The Mind Stone, as a matter of fact. It is my power source."

"Are you one of Tony's robots?" Ruby asked the red man.

"I am an android, a machine designed to be a synthetic human, and I was created indirectly by Mr. Stark," the red man corrected, "My name was Jarvis, but I am now called Vision. May I assist you in any way, ma'am?"

"We could use some help locating a couple of our friends, for one," Yang piped in, dropping from the shelf and standing back up.

"I am, like my successor, Friday, connected to the mainframe of the Quincarrier. If you like, I can perform a sweep to find each of your friends."

"We would appreciate that, if it isn't too much trouble," Ruby said, feeling she shouldn't be bothering a man who lived off of an Infinity Stone. He was practically a god or something, right?

Vision put one arm around his waist and put his other hand on his chin, stroking it in thought, until suddenly he said, "I have found your white-dressed ally, but yet cannot find the black-haired one."

"Where is Weiss?" Yang asked impatiently, clearly not thinking about the fact that Vision didn't actually know who Weiss is.

"The one I assume is known as Weiss is currently inside the ship of Starlord, the leader of the Guardians. The ship is over toward the airlock."

"Why would she be in there?" Ruby wondered.

"Maybe she's looking for Blake," Yang answered, "I hope."

"Do you need help finding her, girls?"

"We'll be fine," Yang said, giving a less-than-friendly look at Vision, "C'mon, Ruby."

The android waved goodbye and the two girls headed off, and when Vision was out of earshot, Ruby said, "Why did you look at Vision like that? He helped us!"

"I don't trust any of the people on this ship, and he's no exception," Yang said with a rather intense expression, "They are going to take the Stone away, and we can't let that happen, okay? Or some crazy dude is gonna get it and destroy the world with it. That Stone is staying here."

Ruby nodded in agreement, but she was wary of Yang now. Something wasn't right with her. She was on edge, insecure. Angry. Something she never was outside of a fight.

"That Stone is getting to you."

"What?" Yang lifted an eyebrow, confused.

"The Stone. The Stone is changing you. Making you paranoid."

"No."

"Yes it is," Ruby said, frowning in concern, "You're so scared of losing the Stone that you're getting paranoid. These are good people. They have good hearts. They are perfectly trustworthy. But that Stone is messing with your head and making you think that they're dangerous to us."

"No, it's just—" Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm just so scared of what the Stone can do to this planet, and I don't want that. I'm trying to be protective."

Ruby hugged her sister around the waist. "I know. I understand. But we need to go about it the right way, or we're no different than the bad guys."

Yang agreed with the tipping of her head and the two set off again to find Weiss and Blake.

 ** _(Pretend this is a divider please because I can't actually use one)_**

The air felt electric, like it typically did when the Bifrost was incoming.

Thor stood with a semi-excited Nora beside him in the dark of the thin night air, bouncing up and down with an energy that Thor himself wished he had his youth back for. She was skipping and humming as always, bubbly to the end. The air grew more and more charged by the second.

"So, DAD, where are we going?" Nora asked, looking up at her father.

"You are going to meet your grandfather, the All-Father Odin. He is the leader of Asgard, the land of our people. He is my father."

"Cool! I never met my grandad and grandmama on Mom's side, they died before I was born, but I guess they were super cool too because they were both Hunters and one of them liked to blow things up and that was why I made a grenade launcher with Magnhild and—"

Thor closed his arm around her waist and held her close after looking up and spotting the pillar of light descending toward the top deck of the warship. It glowed with intensity as it lit the evening sky with beautiful colors.

The beam hit, and Thor felt the familiar sensation of the Bifrost pulling him from this world to Asgard, but it took longer than usual. Almost a full minute. Normally, it took half a minute, if even that. This world of Remnant must be quite separated from the the closer branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, such as with Earth and the other, closer nine worlds.

Then the end of the Bifrost came into view, and with it, the horned helm of the one that could see all.

Thor braced himself for the landing and lifted Nora a bit higher so she wouldn't get hurt by the fall in some way or another, and his feet touched the floor of the portal structure.

The telltale SCCCCHHHHHINNG of the blade being retrieved from the activation pedestal signaled the closing of the bridge, but not before something came through it behind Thor and Nora.

"I was not aware that you would be having an extra guest, Odin-Son," Heimdall said in his deep voice.

Thor whirled and spotted who Heimdall spoke of as he set Nora on the floor.

A boy with black hair and a pink streak in his bangs stood just a few feet from Thor, clad in white pants, black shoes and a green, two-tailed tunic with black floral designs woven on the chest of the shirt. A pair of primitive, green, ranged weapons hung from his hips.

"Who are you?" Thor squinted at the boy, who had pink irises.

"That's Ren!" Nora exclaimed, "He's, like, my best friend in the whole entire world and we've been together since we were kids, but not together together because that would be weird and I'm not saying I wouldn't want to be and that he's not handsome and cool I just don't think we should because he says we're basically brother and sister—"

"Nora," Thor gave her a look, and she went quiet. He returned his attention to the boy. "I did not see you on the ship."

"I did not see where you had the right to take Nora away without checking with anybody else first."

"She is my daughter."

"She is my friend."

Thor could see the look in the boy's eyes, the instinct that boiled up when somebody threatened the person closest to him. Thor knew it well—Jane Foster was that person to him, and he would likely do the same in Ren's place. This was a quiet boy, just being protective.

"Very well," Thor said, "I will allow you to stay with us, but you will not act out of line in this place or I will have you banished from Asgard myself."

"Understood."

"I will not help with that," Heimdall commented from the background he had all but faded into.

Thor looked back to Heimdall. "What news of the events in Asgard?"

"Your Ragnarok has yet to be anything even remotely threatening, but your father still thinks it could pose as one, given time. Speaking of whom, he will be unveiling the memorials of your brother and your mother tonight. I should think he seeks your presence in such a time as this grieving."

Thor exhaled, the image of Frigga's body and the dying Loki flashing in his mind briefly and inciting his grief, but he pushed it from his thoughts.

"Strange that it was so short a time ago, yet it feels as if it happened only days before now," Thor sighed, crossing his arms. He looked to Nora, who was staring at one of the walls of the chamber. Ren had drawn closer.

"You would best be going," Heimdall stated, "Your father will be waiting, as will Sif and the others."

Thor agreed with a curt nod and bent his head in the direction of the bridge. Nora and Ren followed behind him as he passed Heimdall and stepped on the bridge.

"Whoooooaaaaaa..." Nora said in amazement, essentially silenced by the grandeur of the great golden city of Asgard.

"What is this place?" Ren asked quietly from his place beside Nora.

"This...is Asgard."

"It's magnificent."

"Yes," Thor said, smiling proudly, "That, it is."

The great city of Asgard loomed over them the way a magnificent steed might a beaten mule. Not a city existed that could make Asgard pale in comparison. Light gleamed on golden spires, leaving the city with an illustrious glow.

"Come, this way," Thor said, gesturing to the two teenagers to follow him along the bridge. The three of them began to travel toward the city, keeping to a leisurely pace on the multi-colored path.

 ** _(Pretend this is a divider please because I can't actually use one)_**

"Ozpin, we have not seen several students in two days. I worry for their safety."

The old professor sipped from his mug and continued to watch out the window as lights swept across the night sky of the kingdom of Vale. The moon kept its watchful, shattered eye pointed in the direction of the planet.

Glynda Goodwitch wore her eternal scowl as always, but her words were true and her tone reflected her worry for the children. Ozpin didn't blame her; Team RWBY could handle themselves for a time, but a total disappearance was unheard of for the group of girls. Teams JNPR and SSSN were both missing currently, as well, having disappeared at the same time as RWBY. Strange and quite likely caused by some dangerous event.

"We should send out Team CFVY to search for them."

"No," Ozpin said, "If something dangerous has claimed the three teams, we must be prepared. I know not what caused the absences, but one thing is certain now—"

Ozpin jerked his head to the side suddenly, his Semblance allowing him to sense a disturbance of great magnitude. It was how he was so wise and capable of foreseeing danger—his Semblance warned him of it.

"Something is coming. Alert the General and Qrow."

 ** _(Pretend this is a divider please because I can't actually use one)_**

Not long after she left Peter Quill's ship had Weiss felt a presence nearby, and then she heard her teammates' voices yelling her name.

"Weiss! Weiss!"

"I'm here!" Weiss answered the call, moving toward the shelves and searching for the other girls. She rounded a corner and met one of them directly.

Bouncing off and falling on her rump, she looked up and Yang stood in front of her, looking slightly panicked. The blonde hastily offered a hand and helped her up.

"I'm sorry, Weiss," Yang smiled sheepishly, much more shy than usual, "I didn't mean to knock you down. Sorry. I'm...sorry."

"Hey," Weiss said, giving a reassuring smile, "It's okay. Falling on my butt won't hurt me."

"Are you alright, Yang?" Ruby asked as she suddenly appeared from behind Yang, "You seem particularly worried about Weiss lately."

Yang refused to make eye contact. With anybody. "It's nothing. Nothing. Just caring for a friend."

Weiss noticed she was still holding Yang's hand, which she dropped both reluctantly and with haste.

"Did you ever find Blake?" Yang asked, trying desperately to switch the topic.

"No," Weiss answered, "I'm beginning to think she doesn't want us to find her."

"Why would you say that?" Ruby wondered.

"I was told that Blake appealed to the other group to try and get them to take the Stone off-world."

Yang's abnormal behavior was swiftly replaced by her temper. "What? After all we've gone through, she wants to get rid of it?!"

Weiss took a subtle step back with Ruby to give the blonde some space while she vented.

"That isn't right," Ruby said, "Blake would want the Stone here, where it's the safest. Something must be wrong or she saw a vision, o-or something. I don't get it."

"We have to find her soon. If we don't find her, she'll have been gone for two days. It's dusk now."

Weiss was about to reply to Yang's comment when a loud noise similar to an alarm began to blare.

"What is that?" Weiss yelled over the sheer volume.

"I don't know!"

Weiss looked around for somebody to explain the reasoning behind the sound and found a tall, dark-skinned man with a goatee and red-lensed sunglasses several yards away. She rushed to him as he bent down and picked up a backpack of some sort and slipped it on.

"What's going on?" Weiss asked the man, the Avenger, who turned to her, strapping a pair of machine pistols to his hips.

"That's an alert," the man replied, pointing in the direction of the bridge, "Sounds like we've got a mess to go clean up."

Weiss glanced at her leader and her friend and gestured for them to follow. To heck with Blake right now; an emergency required utmost attention. The team would berate her later. The trio followed after the man with the backpack as they rushed to the bridge.

"Name's Sam," the man introduced himself on the way, "Some call me Falcon. I figure we're probably gonna be working together, so let's get used to it."

"Nice to meet you, Sam!" Ruby said rather cheerfully for being in the midst of a possible crisis, a trait Weiss noticed was rather common in those with Xiao Long blood, "I'm Ruby, this is Yang, and that's Weiss!"

"I know about you, Yang," Sam said, entering the large door into the bridge, "I heard you beat up the big one."

"That's what I'm known for, huh?" Yang chuckled, "I suppose that's more suiting than being the pun master."

Weiss shook her head, but found a smile cross her face despite herself.

In the bridge, the entire crew had gathered: a dozen or so human beings, another two with green skin, one of them with red markings on his, a rodent-like figure, and a tree with eyes. Quite the assortment.

Entering right behind them was Team SSSN, along with Jaune and Pyrrha. The latter wore a bandage around her head.

"Everybody present, except Thor and those other two?"

The man known as Steve asked the question, to which all nodded.

"I am Groot," the tree said.

"Yes, thank you, Groot," Steve said, "We've got a situation in the city."

"What? What's happening?" Ruby dashed forward to stand next to the man, who towered over her, "What's wrong?"

"That's the problem," Steve said, "We don't actually know, but Friday intercepted some news chatter about some sort of creature attacking downtown. More people are in danger this time than usual since it's night. More difficulty evacuating. We need to get our fastest and strongest guys out there. Sam, Vision, Stark, and Rhodey, get on your way. Pietro, Clint, Natasha, and Doctor Banner will come with me to the Quinjet to the city to try and take down the beast. Starlord, you take your team on the Milano and join us."

"Got it," Peter Quill replied with a nod of his now-masked head.

"What about us?" Yang snapped indignantly, "That's our home! Let us help you defend it!"

"No. You're kids. You'll just be in danger."

"If I remember correctly, I kicked your buddy's ass and served it back to him on a silver platter."

"She's right," the unarmored Iron Man stepped in, setting his hand on the table, "She's packing enough force in her punches to level a building. She's a mini Hulk. Let her and her sister come."

"Fine. Red, you go with Starlord. Blondie, you come with me. Everybody, move out, on the double."

The designated individuals rushed out the door, headed for their respective destinations. Everybody piled into the Quinjet, but before Yang got it, Weiss grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"What? I've gotta go!" Yang said in a hurry.

"You come back safe, you hear?" Weiss said, looking up into her friend's lilac eyes. "I would hate for today to be the day I lose a good friend."

Yang smiled and nodded. "You got it."

The blonde then rushed onto the airship and the loading ramp raised up, sealing shut and allowing the ship to take off.

Weiss watched as it turned around in the hangar and flew out of the airlock with the ship of Peter Quill following close behind, and for the first time she found herself worried greatly for Yang's safety.

 ** _(Pretend this is a divider please because I can't actually use one)_**

Cinder watched as the two airships flew off into the night.

"It's time," she smiled, her dress engulfing itself in flames and disintegrating before reforming into her mask and catsuit.

She turned and sauntered to her own airship, where Mercury, Emerald, Adam and Roman waited. Each of them looked up at her, and Roman nodded from his position at the pilot seat. The airship's engines whirred and it began its ascent to the warship above.

"Do you have any rules for us to follow, oh-malevolent-leader?" Roman asked, turning his head briefly to see Cinder before turning his eyes back to the sky before him. Mask, the lieutenant, kept his attention to the ascension of the airship.

"If needed, kill on sight," Cinder said, then added, "Or if you feel you should. Or if you want to. Thanos may yet reward us all should we come to him with the heads of our enemies."

"You treat this as a game," Adam huffed angrily, "This is the future of Remnant. The future of the White Fang. Treat this as history in the making, not your own personal amusement."

"With how easily we will dispatch them, should we not have the right to ensure they know just who beat them?"

"I do not agree. You treat this without even a hint of focus."

"And you act as if it is all about your cause, Adam Taurus, but might I remind you that the White Fang's success hinges on my whim."

Adam growled, hand on the hilt of his sword, but he turned away. "Fine. Treat it as though it is a joke. But if we fail, your gravestone is the one you will be hung from."

The radical ronin sat back down and allowed Cinder to mentally prepare herself for the coming fight.


	12. Traitor

**Hey, guys, I've got a new chapter for you and some news!**

 **I've been thinking. I just kinda left Thorns of a Rose in the dust, didn't I? I hadn't really liked them way the story was going, honestly, because it lost its darkness around chapter fifteen. So, here's my piece of news: I am considering rebooting it completely.**

 **Thats right. I'm considering re-doing it, because it was a pretty decent story for being my first in this site, and there were a few things that were a little too fast or elements lost to the mess it had become. So, I'm thinking of rebooting it when I'm done with Gods Among Women so I don't get the two tangled together.**

 **So, that being said, here's the new chapter I promised!**

 **Still no dividers!**

"Jarv—I mean, Vision, you got anything like news coverage or something about the situation?" Tony asked as he hit speeds just below the sound barrier.

"I am afraid not, Anthony," Vision replied, matching Tony's speed alongside Sam and Rhodey, "I am not yet connected to the network of this world."

"I am," Friday interjected, and several screens lit up Tony's onboard HUD, "Got a few here. Dire situation unfolding."

"Holy shit," Tony said, "Is that a giant metal squid?"

"Made from titanium and aluminum alloys, sir," Friday reported, "If we want to take it down we need some heavier firepower. Repulsor tech isn't strong enough."

"We have a Hulk. What's to worry about?" Tony joked, then added, "Well, other than having a Hulk."

"What are the chances that even Hulk will beat something of this size, Tony?" Rhodey asked.

"Well, we've got all four of us, the two fastest people I've ever seen, Cap, Natasha, Clint, a bunch of aliens, Starlord, Hulk, and a mini Hulk. I think we should be fine, right?"

"My calculations say that we have roughly thirty nine percent chance of success," Vision stated.

"Hey, at least that's almost forty-sixty."

"Coming up on the city now."

There it was: the metropolitan city called Vale, where Ruby and her friends lived. Flying above it were ships similar to VTOLs, sometimes called vertibirds. Some of them were flying away from the city. The skyscrapers were huge, and floating behind one was a giant airship that rivaled the size of the Quincarrier.

"That's a warship," Friday said, scanning the airship, "It's firing on something inside the city."

"I noticed," Stark said, leading the four Avengers toward the city, "Do we got eyes on it?"

"We will soon, the creature is about eighty feet tall."

Rhodey whistled and laughed. "Am I finally gonna get my War Machine story tonight?"

Stark chuckled. "Strap in, Rhodey, it's gonna be a helluva night."

The four of them rounded the skyscraper and stopped above the warship, and Tony saw the creature.

A huge, towering, squid-like creature with a metal exterior and a single huge, circular red eye. Its polished chrome exterior glowed orange from the fires surrounding it, and its tentacles were as big around as a bus and almost thrice as long. It lifted a car with one and whipped it in the direction of the warship. It sailed way over...in the path of the four Avengers.

"Look out!" Sam shouted, and he, Rhodey and Tony scattered, but Vision stood—or hovered—fast. Instead of dodging the car, Vision unleashed a blast from the Mind Stone, obliterating the car and showering its remains on the warship below.

The red-skinned android eyed his target, the giant metal octopus, and flew toward it rapidly, intending to phase inside it...

He smashed into it despite being intangible. He escaped a narrow swing at him by flying straight up and firing another blast at the creature.

"It appears that the exterior is incredibly dense," Vision reported, ceasing his attacks and returning to the rest of the group, "My ability to phase through solid objects is rendered obsolete."

"Or it's made of a metal that you can't go through," Stark said, flying behind the octopus and firing a wrist rocket at it. It exploded and the eye of the creature rotated around the creature's body and locked onto him. It lifted one of its tentacles and reached for Stark, but he dropped and flew along the underside of the tentacle. He activated the wrist-mounted cutting laser in his right arm and fired at the tentacle.

"We'll lose power before you cut though that armor, sir!" Friday reported, and Stark swore under his breath. He stopped firing and broke away, flying between two buildings and dodging another tentacle swing.

"I'm thinking we need a new plan of attack, Stark!" Rhodey said through the communicator. He unleashed a burst from his Gatling gun at the beast as he flew over it, then broke away.

"I see that!" Stark flew up and looked around once he reached a good height. The warship was still firing, but doing nothing to the monster. It threw another car at the warship, which was much more effective.

"Here come the others," Sam yelled, swooping down and landing on a rooftop. Stark and Vision descended and landed there with the War Machine not far behind.

The Quinjet landed first, then the other ship, the Milano, landed adjacent to it. The crews poured out of their respective aircraft and gathered in a lackluster circle.

"Stark, what're we looking at here?" Cap asked the Armored Avenger.

"That thing is made of some sort of metal we won't just cut through, or break," Stark said, his faceplate sliding up and revealing his face, "I don't know how we might beat that thing, honestly."

"It is too dense for me to intangibly move through it, as well," Vision revealed once again, "Perhaps there is a more tactful form of offense we might adopt."

"In other words, new plan," Starlord stepped forward, then turned and ran to the edge of the roof. He was watching the monster as it smashed a tentacle into a nearby building.

"How are we supposed to come up with a plan to destroy an indestructible monster?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms.

"It has an Aura."

Everybody turned to the source of the voice. Stark saw that it was Ruby.

"What are you talking about?" Cap inquired.

"Every living thing on Remnant has a soul," Ruby said, "Except Grimm monsters. Which means it has an Aura. Maybe not a Semblance, but an Aura. If we can hit it hard enough and often enough, we could break through the Aura and actually damage it."

"Nobody hits harder than me," Ruby's blonde sister—Stark couldn't remember the name at the moment—said, cracking her knuckles, yellow gauntlets unfolding over her wrists.

"I might disagree on that one," Banner chuckled nervously.

"Either way, we need to take it down with as little civilian casualty as possible," Cap said, "Pietro, Red, I need you drawing it away, somewhere closer to the water or at the edge of the city. Stark, Vision, and Rhodey, I need you to help create the diversion. Find a way. Once it's in a safer location, Banner and Yellow will come in and try to hit it hard enough to break its shield."

"Get it into the woods!" The weird raccoon named Rocket yelled, "Groot's a plant guy, he can use the trees to slow it down."

"I am Groot!" Groot agreed.

"Good idea. Get the thing to the forest. We can fight it there. Everybody else, let's get into position. Move out!"

 **Still no dividers!**

Clearly the mortal youths had yet to visit a city with the elegance such as that of Asgard, Thor discovered as the three of them walked the bazaar.

"Whatsthatwhatsthatwhatsthatwhatsthatwhatsthat!"

Nora and her mouth were ceaselessly running and running and running, matching speeds only the Maximoff brother could hope to achieve. His daughter was quite light, as well; she weighed him down extremely little as she hung off of him and pointed at the various items in the stalls.

"What's that one!"

Thor glanced to the side and saw what she was talking about. He chuckled.

"Forgemaster Faldimir," Thor smiled, approaching the man in the alcove.

The giant, gray-bearded blacksmith was currently hammering away at a piece of steel, his broad shoulders rippling with muscle. He wore goggles and a black apron. He must have notice Thor, because he looked up and laughed loudly.

"Haha! Thor Odin-Son, my laddie! How are you doin', my boy!"

Faldimir held out a hand, which Thor accepted, and the two embraced and patted each other on the shoulder.

"I have come to make a visit to my father," Thor said, hands on his hips, Nora still clinging to him, "I thought I might come and pay you a visit."

"Good, good! How's Mjollnir treating you, lad?"

"As well as always," Thor said, drawing his hammer from his waist, "You and my father are excellent smiths."

"Aye, we are," Faldimir harrumphed, "But methinks yer old man isn't quite up to forging anymore."

"Age does take its toll."

"Aye, that it does. Who's this pretty young lass?" Faldimir asked the Thunder God.

"She is my daughter," Thor explained, crossing his arms with Nora still attached to him, "I had no idea she existed. Her home is among the outworlds."

"Outworlder, eh?" Faldimir grinned, looking at Nora and ignoring Ren's subtle reach for his firearms, "Perhaps a half-blooded Asgardian and the daughter of Thor should have a chance to wield Asgardian steel!"

With that, the blacksmith walked over and disappeared into a doorway, then, after about twenty seconds, he reappeared. He held a weapon.

"A two-handed warhammer of Asgardian make," Faldimir said, "I once used it in battle against the Dark Elves and personally entered combat against the sinister Malekith, but he ran. It is called Álfur-Drepa."

"Elf-slayer," Thor translated as Nora climbed off his back and accepted the huge, golden maul with amazement.

"This is your weapon, Faldimir," Thor said, "Why part with it?"

"Because, Valhalla claim me, I would not be caught dead on the battlefield with that thing again. I'm too old for battle. That doesn't mean, however, I can't make the things that help those who aren't."

Nora appeared to be admiring the hammer, a malicious grin on her face as she tested the weight.

"Nora, maybe you shouldn't take the hammer," Ren suggested to the vicious valkyrie, "You have your own, anyway, and Faldimir has that as a trophy."

"Nay," Faldimir said, stepping forward, "I insist. A daughter of Asgard would benefit most from Asgardian steel."

"Thank you, Faldimir," Thor put a hand on Faldimir's shoulder, smiling, "I am indebted to you."

"Indebted to me?" Faldimir chortled, "You need not be indebted to me for my repayment of a debt to you. You have saved Asgard before. For that I am in debt to you."

"Can I throw it?" Nora asked.

"What?"

"She wants to know if it behaves as Mjollnir does," Thor explained.

"No. Unfortunately, it is not as heavily enchanted as the legendary hammer. Fortunately it does have its own unique enchantment: it releases energy from the head of the maul on contact in an explosion. I can assure you it will serve you better than most weapons."

Nora laughed mischievously and placed the hammer beneath Magnhild's sheath on her back. The gilded haft stuck up from behind her shoulder.

"Thank you again, Faldimir," Thor said to the blacksmith, "It was good to see you. We are off to the palace to visit my father."

"It was good to see you once again, as well, Odin-Son," Faldimir said, walking the three of them to the door, "Farewell, my friend! May Valhalla bless you!"

Thor and Nora waved the Asgardian goodbye and they and Ren continued on their path to the palace.

 **Still no dividers!**

The warship itself was intimidating, naturally; only makes sense that a giant, hovering chunk of tempered steel would put most on edge. But within that chunk lay the key to potentially limitless power.

Cinder held out her hand and the side door of the airship flew open, giving her a vantage point on the landing strip below. How...primitive.

Her outstretched hand glowed orange briefly as the shards of metal woven into her clothes splintered and gathered at her hand, forming her bow. She conjured an arrow, nocked on her string.

"What's the target?" Emerald asked.

"Thanos suggested we cripple it," Cinder drew her bowstring back, straightening her shoulders and semi-closing one eye, "And that is what we will do. Roman, hold us steady."

"You try piloting in turbulence!" Roman yelled, seemingly having difficulty with the controls.

Cinder took a deep breath and aimed. The four turbines spun endlessly, keeping the ship aloft. Perhaps if one went down, the others would follow suit...

She released her arrow and it disappeared into the night, but Cinder knew it hit its mark; it always did. She entered the cockpit and tapped Roman on the shoulder as the command to have him descend. The airship landed on the runway and the rotors shut down.

A door nearby, at the watch tower, opened, revealing a black-haired girl with a black bow on her head. She had her hands hidden behind her back. Her eyes were amber in color.

Cinder stepped off the airship and approached the girl. "Well done holding them here for the needed time. Emerald was right, we needed only insert you while the chaos of battle ensued."

The girl, Blake, giggled and blinked, and her eyes changed color, from amber to one brown and one pink. Then, the illusion faded, leaving only Neo in her stead.

"How many are in there?" Mercury asked the soft-spoken psychopath.

Neo smiled and blinked. "Five males and four females, three if you don't count the one I have hidden in the maintenance tunnels. Only one of them is a true threat. You can handle her."

"Good. This is going easier than expected."

The six of them entered the doorway Neo left open as the moonlight faded and clouds rolled across the sky. Rain began to fall heavily on the blacktop when the door shut.

 **Still no dividers!**

"Sir, there's a problem!"

Friday reported this fact as Stark was scanning buildings for people on the giant octopus's predicted path, finding nobody in the process.

"I know there's a problem, Friday, it's a chromed-out calamari," Stark said, flying down and landing on the asphalt. He saw Ruby and Pietro nearby. The former was inside a small building, with the words "From Dust Till Dawn" written in a Japanese-style font above the missing front doors. Pietro was sitting atop an abandoned car.

"No, sir!" Friday said, sounding urgent, "Intruders on the Quincarrier and I can't raise the alarms to warn the remaining crew!"

"What?" Tony shrieked, "Gimme the feed from the security cameras!"

A screen popped up, showing a corridor on the ship, with several people unfamiliar to him walking through it. Three women, three men.

Wait. One of them was the girl with the bow in her hair. Ruby's friend.

"Traitor," Stark snarled, gritting his teeth, "Cap, we've got hijackers on the carrier!"


	13. Starlord and Crime Lord

**Wow, college stuff has me busy! Hey, guys, I'm back for a new chapter, which I'm hopefully not too late to post! I don't really have much to say other than that college is starting next month and I'm still trying to prepare for it, and because of that I come back home so drowsy that I pass out in my bed even though I really should be keeping pace with how often I have WIFI now. My apologies for that. I'm forcing myself to stay awake for this chapter. So, please, enjoy!**

"Cap, we've got six hijackers on the carrier and they've disabled the alarms!"

Stark's message came through loud and clear as Steve watched everybody set up and observed the monster from afar.

Steve put a finger to his ear. "How long have they been there?!"

"Captain, they just arrived, but they appear to have hostile intent!" Friday answered grimly.

"Damn it," Steve looked around. The Quinjet was close by, but he needed to be here to help coordinate the Hulk and the blonde girl, Yang. Stark and the other three airborne Avengers were needed for air support, so they were stuck here, too, and even if Clint and Natasha were able to use the Quinjet now, they couldn't handle a group of six hijackers who must be extremely skilled if they're from this planet.

"Steve."

Starlord. Of course—Steve had forgotten about him.

"If you think everyone here can handle the big guy without Groot, I can take my team and head back."

"Do it," Steve said, "Don't let the Stone fall into the wrong hands."

"I'd like to think that won't happen if I'm still alive. Of course, if I was dead, I couldn't stop them anyway. But whatever. We're on our way back now."

Cap sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Starlord said, "Makes my ego bigger."

Cap returned his attention back to the fight at hand, thankful that Starlord had come along after all.

 ** _In Asgard..._**

Nora was swinging her hammer around carelessly as the trio walked to the palace, where Odin resided, awaiting Thor's arrival.

Thor himself had mixed emotions about the coming introductions. Would Odin find him worthy still of wielding Mjollnir if he knew Nora was a bastard child? Would he disown Nora herself for being of mortal and Asgardian blood? Would he forgive Thor's actions from so long a time ago?

The steps came to an end, and before the group was the stretch of ground leading to the entrance to the palace. Thor immediately spotted familiar figures nearby. His friends—Sif was the only one to take notice of his presence. She waved the rest of them off and separated, approaching the three quite rapidly.

"Thor, good to see you," Sif greeted her friend without so much as a smile, "I see you act against your father's decree against the presence of mortals in Asgard yet again?"

"One of them is mortal, yes," Thor said, gesturing to Ren, who matched Sif's expression of indifference, "But the other is partially Asgardian."

Sif looked at Nora. The girl's eyes widened and she leaned back as Sif drew closer and closer until they nearly had their bodies touching. The older of the two women was inspecting Nora closely.

"She resembles none I've seen before," Sif stated, turning her gaze to Thor.

"Perhaps because she is of my blood and she has not been of my concern until recently, when I discovered she had a presence in one of the many realms of Midgard."

Sif's eyebrows crossed. "You conceived a child with a mortal woman. You certainly know what kinds of blasphemy to commit, don't you, friend?" She said in a less-than-friendly tone.

"She is my daughter. I care not for the laws of my people when it is my child caught in the center."

"She is a disgrace to the land you, a pure-blooded Asgardian, were born of."

"I know not why you seek conflict with me over affairs not your own, but I promise that if you do not treat my daughter as your kin as you do the rest of the people of Asgard, I will not hesitate to act in her defense."

Sif scowled and snarled. "Fine. But no one, not even the daughter of my friend Thor Odin-Son, should seek kinship with the likes of a lowly half-blood."

Sif angrily turned and walked away, leaving the Mighty Avenger and the two teenagers behind.

"Who was that?" Nora asked her father.

"That...was your aunt, but I fail to understand her sudden outburst," Thor said, "I know not her mind so well as of late. Shall we move on?"

Suddenly, the clattering of armor behind them alerted them to the coming of somebody.

"Thor! You must return to the outerworld!"

Thor whipped around. Heimdall stood with his sword in hand before him.

"What is it, Heimdall?"

"An ancient threat, Odin-Son, one that deems it necessary to level the outerworld and your allies."

Thor cursed himself in Asgardian and he beckoned for Ren and Nora to come with him, and the group began a race against time to return to the Bifrost.

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

The Milano's engines roared as it battled the turbulence generated by the gathering storm above. Lightning began to strike the clouds and the forest and valleys below.

"I don't know who we're dealing with here, guys," Quill said from the pilot seat as he turned the speed up to try and wipe away the water gathering on the cockpit window, "But we've gotta try and keep the Stone outta their hands. We can't let them have it or Thanos will get it, and we all know that I can't just dance to beat that dude. Keep it away from them."

"Does collateralated damage matter?" Rocket asked curiously, hopping down from his seat and drawing his folded rifle, "I hope you say no."

"Just...don't destroy the ship too much, alright?"

"Okay, good, 'cause I'm not the bestest at keeping my fire under control."

"I am Groot."

"Shut up, Groot, you can't even use a gun, don't brag about your aim."

"I am Groot!"

"Quill, look!" Gamora ran to the front of the cockpit and pointed below. The Quincarrier was there soon enough and atop it an aircraft of some type rested, drenched in water.

"We should take the airlock," Gamora suggested, "It will let us access the hangar more quickly."

"Good idea."

Quill brought the Milano low, flying around the giant turbines, and brought the ship before the airlock, where he adjusted the ship to land.

That plan was dashed when a glowing, firework-like projectile sailed through the air, straight at the cockpit.

"Quill, DIVE!"

"DOING IT ALREADY!" Quill yelled, pushing the controls into the downward position and narrowly avoiding the explosive. The Milano, thankfully, was among the more nimble of the Ravager ships; outclassed most besides Yondu's.

He brought it into a hover below the carrier and unstrapped himself, switching on his mask.

"What are you doing, Quill?" Drax asked as he joined the group in the cockpit.

"Whoever's got the rocket launcher is the biggest threat right now, so I'm gonna go up and try to surprise him. Hopefully it'll work and I don't take a buncha shrapnel to the face."

"And if you do, Lord of the Stars?"

"Then I have some badass scars to tell the ladies about later."

"I know not of these wenches you speak of, but I wish you luck, Quill, and please perform an act of the kicking of an ass. I would much like to mount one to the wall above my hearth should I live long enough to purchase a home."

Peter didn't reply as he opened the side hatch and triggered his boot jets, flying from the Milano and into the sky, toward the airlock again.

The moment he was in front of it, however, the rounds were flying straight at him.

Unlike conventional rockets, these behaved more like fireworks—they flew slowly and seemed like they were twinkling as they zoned in on him. They also screamed like fireworks as they careened in his general direction. Luckily for him, he was a much smaller target than the Milano and far more agile, allowing him to dodge the rounds with ease as he sped toward the airlock.

He spotted the assailant immediately. He was tall, for one, and wore black dress pants, a white trench coat, black gloves, a red scarf, and a black bowler hat. He had orange hair and he for some strange reason wore mascara. A lot of it. He actually painted eyelashes into his cheeks. He wasn't even holding a rocket launcher, just a cane, but the cane apparently was just as lethal since that's what he was using to shoot at Quill.

The dapper demolisher dropped his grip on his cane from the loop to the shaft and ducked before Quill could hit him, and the Starlord hit the ground on his feet and skidded to a stop. He whirled and pointed both guns at Bowler Hat Man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we can work this out!" Bowler Hat said, holding his free hand up.

"I'm tempted to just shoot you," Quill said, "Why do you look like you should be running a speakeasy?"

"Why do you look like some wannabe Huntsman?"

"Go ahead, keep talking, give me a reason to shoot your sorry ass," Quill looked around. This guy was the only person around currently...wait, where is Weiss? And Wanda?

"Hey, name's Roman," the man said, going into a state of nonchalance and sauntering confidently toward Quill, "I bet that whatever you're getting paid, I can double it."

"I'm not getting paid," Quill said, and his guns changed shape slightly, the yellow light on the back of each changing to red, "But I'm sure a rant about how I'm doing the right thing won't be nearly as fun as watching you go flying out that airlock."

Roman was nearly within arm's reach now, and Quill couldn't possibly miss from here. "Yeeeeeaaaaaaah, I would do the right thing, but for me, that doesn't earn enough. I got bills, man, they need a-payin'. No hard feelings."

He suddenly lashed forward, using his cane to hook one of Quill's blasters and wrenching it from his hand. It might have fallen to the ground had it not been attached to his belt. Instead, Roman heaved back and pulled Quill toward himself. The latter tried to fire his second blaster, but he missed and hit a light fixture above and behind Roman, who punched him across the face. Or his mask.

"Ow," Roman complained, shaking his hand and backing off a bit, releasing Quill's blaster and leaving it to return to the Ravager's hip. "What in Remnant is that thing made out of?"

"Maybe I'm just hardheaded!" Quill shouted, walking up, grabbing Roman's incoming fist, and head butting him with the mask as hard as he could.

Roman was thrown to the ground and he entered a somersault to try and return to his feet, but Quill swiftly lifted his blasters and shot Roman square in the chest.

The rich rogue tumbled through the airlock, but he caught his cane and hooked it on the edge just in the nick of time and used his momentum to pendulum himself back into the hangar. He hopped to his feet and lifted his cane. He bent down and picked his hat back up after it fell from his head.

"Honestly, I feel bad, I really do," Roman twirled the cane and placed his hat upon his head, "But to be honest again, I really don't."

"About what?"

Roman chuckled and turned away, tucking his cane under his arms as he fixed his gloves. He looked deviously over QUill's shoulder. "About that."

Quill whirled and drew his guns, but there was nothing behind him. In fact, Quill realized exactly what just happened: he got fooled by the oldest trick in the book.

The whistling of the firework was all he heard before he felt the searing pain of the blast race up his spine and he was sent sailing and then skidding-slash-rolling across the floor. He crashed into an aisle and everything on it collapsed atop him.

"Ha ha ha _HAAAA_!" Roman cackled wildly, "I wish I could have seen your face! I just beat you with the oldest trick in the book! Hoo hoo hoo, boy, that was _hilarious_!"

Quill hardly cared. He was in awful pain now, and he could feel the cold metal exterior of whatever lay atop him, sending him the message that Roman's firework had ripped open Quill's jacket and probably wounded him badly. He couldn't bring himself to move.

"Quill!"

Quill moaned in response to the person calling his name, but it sounded loud and familiar. Gamora? Drax? Rocket? Quill's head was spinning and he found he couldn't focus on anything. He switched off his mask with a titanic effort to move his sore arm, and soon enough he could breathe.

Big mistake.

Whatever breath restrictions were caused by the mask also prevented him from taking too deep a breath to let him feel his fractured ribs. The pain was sudden, causing him to gasp and just making it worse.

"Quill!"

The chatter of machine gun fire was rapidly drowned out by the sound of his heartbeat in his ears. He thought he heard the fireworks again, but couldn't tell. He felt the shock of something heavy hitting the floor and he wondered if Roman was that something heavy.

More shocks closing in on him indicated fleet footsteps, and then hands on his painful nerves and himself being rolled over. He grimaced the whole time.

"Quill, hold on!"

He cried out as something lifted him up and carried him away, but by the time he reached his destination, he had passed out.

 ** _Moments before..._**

"Quill!"

Gamora yelled this from the open cockpit of the Milano as she watched Quill get blasted in the back with an explosive.

She rose quickly, snatching up her retractable sword and turning to the rodent in the seat beside her own.

"Rocket, cover me!"

Rocket nodded curtly and turned his attention to the targeting computer, which locked onto the white-clad assailant. Gamora moved as far as she could back, then got a running start and leapt from the opened cockpit. Her powerful, augmented legs gave her enough strength to land inside the airlock, just as Rocket opened fire.

The Milano's machine guns might not be a match for ships such as the Dark Aster, but the attacker was no Aster; he was simply a human. But where the Dark Aster was slow and armored, he was fast and clever. He fired an explosive into the ground in front of himself, covering him in smoke. When it cleared, he was gone.

"Quill, hold on!"

Gamora rushed to the pile of rubble Quill lay beneath, digging through the stuff to find her friend, laying bleeding on the floor.

 _SSSSSHHHHHHWWWWIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG_...

A sinister noise sent chills up her spine as she hoisted Quill onto her shoulder. She turned to the source as the Milano landed nearby.

A towering man with blood red hair and devilish horns protruding from his head, he stood wearing a black suit with a tailcoat decorated with red rhinestones bedazzled in the shape of wilting roses and a white mask that covered from his nose up to his forehead. He held a katana—no, a chokutō, with a blood red blade and a long rifle in his off hand.

"I am Groot!"

The sentient tree ran over, the floor shaking with each step, and Gamora allowed him to remove her injured friend from his shoulders. She cocked her head toward him.

"Get him to a safe place," Gamora ordered, "I will take care of this one."

"I am Groot?"

"NO, get out of here, you'll only be in the way. Find the Stone."

The tree turned away and stalked off, leaving Gamora alone with the ronin she now faced off against.

She drew her silver hilt from her waistband, then it unfolded into a full-length sword. She knew she would be at a disadvantage with her previously damaged shoulder, but it would have to do.

"You believe you can stand against me," the ronin huffed, entering a fighting stance and sheathing his chokutō in the rifle barrel. He entered a stance that would allow him to quickly draw his blade at high speed and make the most of a slash. Laido, a dangerous and clumsy style from Quill's world of Terra, but a powerful one to those who could use it. She remembered one of her many "sisters" preferred it.

She drew a knife to wield in her offhand. Not much of an advantage, but a long blade such as the chokutō would give little maneuverability if she could just get close enough, and the rifle would be near useless in the same situation, but the key was getting close without being dismembered or shot.

Suddenly, the man drew the blade, the tip coming far too close for comfort, and Gamora parried with her knife just in time, leaving the blade to harmlessly return to the scabbard. Gamora took the opportunity to lunge ahead, spin, and slash with each weapon.

One thing Gamora had never seen as a technique anywhere else was the idea of using the scabbard as a cannon: the ronin pulled the trigger on his rifle, propelling the hilt to his hand and allowing him to swing diagonally with unbelievable speed. Gamora dropped, canceling her attack midway through and rolling past the ronin. She swung a quick kick in an attempt to trip him, but his blade once again interfered with her plan of attack and she retracted her foot, rising back to full height. She dove out of reach and stood again, entering fighting position as before.

"You are quick," the man complimented, "Your skin is unlike any I have witnessed before."

"You could say I'm one of a kind," Gamora said, rolling her shoulders to loosen up her muscles, "I won't let you have that Infinity Stone."

"I do not believe that is your decision."

"If you truly believe my father will preserve this world after he obtains the Stone, you are sorely mistaken."

The man showed no expression—especially given that he wore a mask—but he smirked. "Your father is Thanos?"

"Yes," Gamora answered, the two beginning to pace around each other, "All the better to tell you your current path is unwise. Please. Turn back, before you and your people suffer."

The masked man drew his sword and aimed the blade at Gamora, stopping.

"I am Adam Taurus, and I will not allow a woman such as you to stop my revolution. Step out of my way or die."

Gamora stepped back and lifted her blades. Adam didn't seem to notice that it was more a taunt than preparation.

"Die it is, then."

He sheathed his blade, but before he drew it again, he grunted as something wrapped around him.

"Your ass will need a swift kicking," Drax said to the man as he pinned the ronin's arms to his sides, "I would be delighted to be the kicker."

Adam bent his knees and jumped, kicking his legs up so he could wrench himself out of Drax's grip, land on his feet behind the Destroyer, and swiftly draw his blade, cutting across Drax's back.

Of course, the cutting only moved across, not through. After all, Drax's skin was hard enough to stop a blast from an Infinity Stone, what could a simple blade do?

"Ha ha ha ha!" Drax laughed, "Your ass needs plentiful kickings!"

Gamora used the distraction to slip away and make an attempt to try and find the Stone before it was too late.


	14. Thunder and Lightning

**Hey, guys, I don't feel like really writing much of a foreword here this time, so just pretend there's one and use your imagination! Enjoy!**

Ruby waited anxiously for Cap to call for the attack to start.

She and Quicksilver—well, Pietro, as his sister Wanda called him—had been waiting some time. Pietro was the one in contact with Cap, she wasn't even given a communicator.

Of course, due to the plan's delayed initiation, she took the opportunity to raid a wrecked Dust shop. If the two of them survived this, she and Tony could make his Mark L suit—she found an abundance of the Dust she needed to create the smart metal Tony described. She'd piled it into a backpack she found hidden behind the checkout counter and slipped the knapsack on beneath her cape.

"It's time."

Ruby looked at Pietro. He was currently doing some stretches, preparing to run. He cracked his knuckles and got down so one leg stuck out behind him and his hands lay even with his bent forward knee.

Ruby drew Crescent Rose in rifle form and waited for the creature to appear. "Did you run track in school?"

"Heh heh," Pietro chuckled at the question, sighing afterward, "In Sokovia, we did not get to go to school. Only the rich children, the ones who could afford to do more than just breathe, were allowed at school. My parents were not able to pay for me and my sister; they died after a mortar shell hit my apartment building."

"I'm sorry."

"Do not be," Pietro said, taking a deep breath, "Pity makes me slow."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as if a quake were rolling through, and Pietro said, "Get ready. Cap says it is right around the corner."

The processed voice bellowing in a forgotten language signified the arrival of the monster. Its red eye locked onto a nearby building and it smashed a tentacle through the apartment. Ruby gasped.

"That was Steve's spotter location," Ruby said.

"He'll live. Shoot at the thing, Red!"

"Right!"

Peering through the scope, Ruby lined up her crosshairs and held her breath, steadying her aim. She released and fired.

The bullet slammed right into the eye and it swiveled in her direction. It then began to speak in tongueless tongue and started to charge at them.

"Quarinus siln frew Stohn Infinitu."

"Incoming!" Ruby yelled, dropping her rifle and letting it hang from her back. She spun on her heel and began to run, everything around her blurring into a mess. Except for Pietro, of course; he was keeping pace with her as the creature chased them.

They reached an intersection quickly, where Pietro slammed himself into a car to slow himself enough to make the turn, while Ruby planted the blade of her scythe into a nearby wall and whipped around the corner whilst using the scythe to perform the turn.

The two of them sprinted ever onward, with the creature matching their pace not with speed but with long, determined strides. It was taking the bait perfectly. They rounded a corner, then another, and another, then entered a long, straight stretch of road.

This is too easy, Ruby thought as she and Pietro continued to race along the stretch.

A shadow then loomed over her, and she looked up to see what it was.

A tentacle, smashing down between Ruby and Pietro.

The duo were sent flying. A hard impact to Ruby's head with what felt like a traffic light pole sent her head and her body spinning and she ricocheted into a car face first.

"Ow..." Ruby whined, her body struggling to overcome the concussion. She tried to pick herself up, but her arms wouldn't obey. She forced herself to get to a position with her elbow propping her up, but now she was having a hard time breathing. It was like that hit just stripped her brain of its ability to act as her brain. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry. She tasted blood.

She rolled over and looked up into the sky. Clouds were beginning to roll in...? Right? Blotches of black adorned some of her vision. Her head was pounding. She was suffering tunnel vision. She couldn't comprehend quite what was going on. Was that...lightning? In Vale? Amazing. That didn't happen often in Vale...

She felt herself being lifted up and carried away, then she felt her body shake briefly. Who was carrying her? Her neck wouldn't obey. Not much else would, really. It was like that hit just...turned her body off.

Lightning streaked across the sky, and the clouds began to swirl. Or maybe that was her vision. Her head hurt.

With sheer willpower, she forced her body to listen. She picked her head up with titanic effort and she saw orange curls with a pink bow. Freckled cheeks. Green eyes.

"Pen...n...n...nnny?" Ruby slurred, and the android looked down at her. She stopped mid-run, ducked into a large alcove nearby, and inspected her friend.

"Salutations, Ruby!" Penny greeted her injured friend, "You appear to be injured!"

"Isssss Pieeyyyytrruuuuooo oookayyy?" Ruby asked, meekly trying to point back at a spot behind. Penny peered back.

"Yes," Penny said, "He was afretted by severe abrasions in my last scan and currently hidden inside a building."

Ruby groaned feebly. The one thing she was capable of doing to the creature, and she couldn't do. Whatever her head injury was, even her hyper-enhanced healing caused by the Stone's effects wouldn't be fast enough to get her back in the fight.

"I will need to put you down, Ruby," Penny said, "The General has tasked me with the destruction of the creature."

"Waaait..." Ruby breathed, her senses starting to return somewhat and her speech impediment receding slightly, "Nnnoo, we'd had a plllan befffforree. L-lead it out offff the city. It will do less damage tttthhheerre and Yang'll be out there waiting." Ruby forced her pronunciation to make her speech as clear as possible, but certain words just caught and dragged out without her intention.

Penny turned and looked at the creature, which was currently searching around for the missing runners. Pietro must have gotten away safe. Ruby hoped he was still able to run.

"I see," Penny said, looking back down at Ruby, "It has such a powerful Aura that you need Yang's equally powerful Semblance to reduce its shield. Perhaps you require aid?"

"I hhhhave other people hhhhelping, but..." Ruby's Aura was already healing her brain injuries, letting her step down onto trembling, temporarily-weakened legs and support herself with an arm around Penny's shoulders, "It's a long story."

"What about you, Ruby?" Penny asked with concern, "You are suffering from several contusions and abrasions and you have a concussion. You shouldn't run."

Ruby sighed. "I know. But I have a friend who can get me out to a nice sniping position. I can call out what the thing is doing. Spot."

As if on cue, her Scroll went off—the screen had a crack spidering off from the bottom left of the screen—and the display was weird, but a lilted voice spoke through it.

"Miss Rose, are you alright?" Friday asked through her device.

"I'm kinda fine," Ruby replied, glancing back at Penny, "The thing hit Pietro and I. I don't know where he is, but I'm too injured to run."

"Crap," Tony sighed in frustration, "What do we do now? None of us are fast enough to outrun it."

"If I might make a suggestion," Penny interjected, to which Tony responded, "Who is that?"

"She's a friend of mine," Ruby explained, looking at her android ally, "I'll introduce you later."

"If you can, try to get it out of the city," Penny continued, "If you can somehow knock something down to cut it off, it'll have to go in a different direction. Make a path and it will follow it out of the city."

A brief silence, then Tony spoke up again. "I can try to knock a few buildings down, but that is a lot of collateral. Is there some better idea?"

"There's no time, Tony," Ruby said, "It's already searching for Pietro and I, just hit some buildings and make the path."

Ruby sighed, plopping down on the ground. A heck of a day, today.

"If you give me the signal, I can begin leading it through the path," Penny said, her eyes fixated on the nearby, gargantuan creature.

"Give me a few minutes. Get yourself ready to go."

The Scroll's signal cut out, and Penny held it back out to Ruby. The red reaper waved it off.

"Hold onto it, you'll need it to communicate with Tony," she sighed dismally. She hung her head, saying, "This is our fault."

"How so?"

"Me, Weiss, Yang and Blake found a thing called an Infinity Stone," Ruby explained, "But instead of letting somebody more competent have it, we kept fighting that somebody off because we thought we were the safer hands."

"You were safe, Ruby," Penny crouched in front of Ruby, giving a reassuring smile, "I know I'm not a real girl, but I don't need to be real to see you might be the safest hands around. Even Headmaster Ozpin and General Ironwood shouldn't have the Stone, if it is what you say it is. Don't feel bad. I'll help you protect it."

Ruby looked up at the enthusiastic android. She smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Ruby," Penny hugged her friend to help her feel better and then stood up. A loud rumble shook the ground beneath them.

"I think that was Tony," Ruby said, "Get ready. It'll start chasing you next."

"What about you?"

"I'll have Vision pick me up and get me to a sniping position. You don't know Vision, either, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

The Scroll switched back on again just then, emitting crackles and static before saying in Tony's voice, "You ready to go?"

"Yes, sir, Tony, sir!" Penny said, her blades launching out of her backplate and forming a shape resembling wings, "I'm combat ready!"

"Then get going. Follow the path...now."

Something hit the creature hard enough to cause an explosion. A car. Penny looked back down at Ruby briefly as it was stunned, a red blur flying rapidly overhead.

"Go," Ruby waved her off, "You're the only hope we've got now. Go."

The android nodded and took off, launching at the creature, scratching at its exterior with her blades to provoke it, and began to lead it through a maze of toppled buildings.

 ** _In a distant realm..._**

Heimdall wasted no time as the quartet of combatants reached the Bifrost and he drew his sword, slamming its blade down into the slot in the pedestal and triggering the portal.

"Give Father my regards and my apologies, Heimdall," Thor requested the Watcher, "I cannot let my allies be slain."

"I understand, Thor Odin-Son," Heimdall said stoically, standing with his shoulders thrown back and his eyes staring straight ahead, into the Bifrost, "But be sure you do not join them, my friend. I am sending you nigh directly into the danger."

Thor nodded and looked at the two teenagers. Ren was emotionless and calm, and Nora quite the opposite: she seemed to be looking forward to the bloodshed.

The Thunder God jerked his head toward the Bifrost and whipped Mjollnir rapidly in a circular motion before throwing it into the portal. It carried him with it. He knew the other two joined him when he heard Nora's elated cackling.

There was that long transition, in which he mentally prepared himself for what he would face. He took a deep breath as he flew, and his hammer seemed to pick up on it and carry him rapidly forward.

He felt the static building up in the mineral of his hammer, and lightning struck it from the walls of the Bifrost. He brought his legs down and felt the solid impact of his Asgardian soles against a black surface, and his daughter and her friend landed behind him. The Bifrost dissipated, and he felt rain.

"We are on the Quincarrier," Thor said, looking down at the soaked, newly rune-marked blacktop, then toward the nearby door.

"Did somebody make Dr. Banner angry?" Ren asked, drawing his green firearms, "I know Captain Rogers warned us not to do it."

"No," Thor replied, approaching the doors nearby, "The Flying Fortress would no longer be airborne should this have happened. Be on your guard."

The doors slid open, revealing a hallway. Spots of water lay stagnant upon the floor.

"Someone has been here," Thor said, "Be prepared to fight."

Despite this, there was little fight. The trio wandered the halls, headed for the hangar, where Thor would have expected a fight to happen. He checked the cameras as he walked through—each one, destroyed in some way. One by flame, another with a bullet. Another with an arrow.

"Somebody doesn't want to get spotted," Ren commented.

"Let's break their legs!" Nora giggled maliciously, wielding Elf-Slayer with a bloodthirsty grin stretched across her face.

"There are doors nearby that lead to the hangar. Come."

It didn't take long to find the doors. Well, the doorway. The doors themselves were about twenty feet from where they should have been. And through the newly vacant doorway, Thor could see the white-haired girl, the one called Weiss, in a duel with an opponent wielding a pair of bayoneted pistols.

"You two, aid any others you see," Thor ordered the two teenagers, marching forward, "I will fight here."

He ran between a pair of crates, finding himself in a mainly empty section of the hangar. The girl clad in white, Weiss was locked in combat with the rogue, but she wasn't the only opponent: a tall, gray-haired boy was in the fight, as well, dodging around the fencer with predatory ease. They were tiring out the poor girl, saving her to kill when she was helpless.

Weiss was even more pale than usual, looking ragged and breathless. She was propping herself on her sword. Her hair was matted to her forehead. One of her eyes glowed yellow, the sclera of her scarred eye black. She collapsed to her knees.

The rogue appeared to be smiling at the fencer as she deliberately leveled her pistol at the girl's head. She looked as if she were about to pull the trigger.

Thinking fast, Thor threw Mjollnir. It wheeled through the air and smashed the rogue in the shoulder. She cried out as the hammer sent her on her side.

" _HRAGH_!"

Thor whipped around as an armored foot drew near his face. He ducked underneath and went for a backhand strike on his opponent's open side, but he also ducked, the gray-haired assassin dodging the son of Odin's attack skillfully, rolling into a cartwheel, leaping into the air from his hands, and kicked out his feet. Two bullets fired from his soles, but they had no effect as Thor tossed himself to the side. The assassin landed artfully back on his feet as the Thunder God clambered to his own.

"You know not who you fight," Thor said, prepared for another onslaught of kicks and bullets.

"I know he's an arrogant ass, for one," the boy chuckled, arms crossed over his chest. The rogue appeared beside him, holding her guns aimed at Thor.

"I am sure he has good reason to be, against you."

The assassin frowned and whipped out a foot, loosing a round directly at Thor's face. He dropped into a roll toward the assassin and lashed out with a foot, nearly catching the assassin in the jaw. He performed a cartwheel backwards to avoid the attack, but the rogue had not faired so well in avoiding his attacks. He grabbed her throat and slammed her into the floor, then held his hand out toward the assassin.

"What, need a hand, old man?" The assassin once again had his arms crossed over his chest. He called _Thor_ arrogant? Irony.

Speaking of whom, the Thunder God had the last laugh. While the boy was so concentrated on taunting Thor, he hadn't realized the enchanted Mjollnir could return to its owner's hand...and he'd chosen to stand right between Thor and his weapon.

Perfectly executed.

The hammer lifted from the floor and smashed right into the boy's backside, knocking him down and rearming Thor. The Thunder God picked the boy up by the nape of his shirt, tossed him up, and then slammed the hammer hard into his stomach. Suffice to say, whatever list there was of objects that needed replacing, a dozen more were just added to said list.

" _Hyah_!"

Thor didn't have time to laugh at the assassin, because now his wrists were bound by chains. He turned to see the source. The thief.

"Weiss, get out of here," Thor ordered the girl huffing and puffing in the corner, "Board an aircraft and evacuate the others. We cannot hold the carrier!"

The girl breathlessly nodded and rose, jogging away and leaving Thor to deal with the thief.

"Just you and us, old man," the assassin said as he bound back onto the battlefield. His pants were shredded, showing that his legs weren't armored—they were entirely mechanical.

"Yes, it is," Thor said, smirking and lifting his hammer to the ceiling, "You poor mortals."

Lightning arced onto the head of the hammer and coursed along Thor's scale mail and jumped to the thief's chains. The girl shrieked in agony, and Thor gripped one of the chains and swung her like a flail, whipping her into her ally.

He twirled his hammer in his hand. "I only hope that the others fare better within the city."

 _ **Within the city limits...**_

Ruby watched the scene unfold below through her scope as if it were straight out of a movie.

Towering, gargantuan octopus, chasing a girl with blades floating around her, through a maze made from toppled buildings. The creature was nearing a trap.

"Long, Banner, you better get ready," Steve said nearby, finger to his ear once again, "You two need to hit it. Hard."

He glanced over at the two skyscrapers the creature would be maneuvering between. Atop each one was a raw, unbridled rage pent up inside a small, fragile human body. One of them would stay that way. The other wouldn't.

The idea was to build up momentum to smash it into the ground. If they could get moving fast enough, "Hulk" and Yang would be able to possibly destroy it. Very little survived a hit from Yang; what were the chances it would survive a hit from her AND the "Hulk"?

She zoned the crosshairs in on the creature. It lumbered away, no doubt in pursuit of Penny. The android was unbelievably quick and evasive to boot, and she was dodging tentacle after enraged tentacle as it spewed words in a long-lost language. Two words it kept saying were "Stohn Infinitu," which she assumed were cognates of her language's own words for the Infinity Stone. Someone must have programmed it to either take the Stone or destroy it.

"Ruby, how are we on the drone?" Steve asked.

Ruby said without looking up from the scope, "Probably another minute until it reaches the trap."

"Your friend there is fast," Tony said through the radio. He was waiting in the woods for the monster. "Really, really fast. And how is she controlling those blades? Neurological interface? Magnetic under-armor?"

"Sure, let's go with that. Yang, Bruce, you've got thirty seconds before you need to drop."

"You don't even need to tell me that, sis," Yang chuckled through the radio, "Remember? We don't have voice cues."

"What about Freezerburn? Or Checkmate?"

"Touché."

"Fifteen seconds. Get ready," Steve said urgently.

"Cap, we've got another bogey a few miles out, coming in slow," Tony reported as he flew overhead, "It doesn't look friendly."

"Ten."

Ruby got up and looked back through her scope, aiming at the creature's singular eye and listening in on Tony's relayed information.

"We've also got a problem on the carrier," Tony said, "Thor just showed up, but he won't make it to the Stone before our hijackers get it. Especially since that traitor from Ruby's team knows exactly where it is.

" _WHAT_?" Yang snapped through the communicator, " _Traitor_? _Who was the traitor_?"

"Black hair, bow," Tony answered, "Cameras caught her hosting our hijackers to the ship."

Ruby looked up through the scope and saw the sun was rising. No, not the sun rising; Yang's fury setting her ablaze so brightly atop the building she resembled sunrise.

"Cap, we've gotta split the odds. The Guardians can't hold the ship by themselves, even with Thor and Wanda. Whoever is onboard that ship is beyond anything we've dealt with before."

Ruby heard Steve sigh nearby.

"Three...two... _one_! _Jump_!"

Through the scope, Yang glowed so bright she may as well have been a meteor crashing down atop the creature.


	15. Yellow Beauty Burns Black

**Hey, guys! I just got moved into college, and I have WIFI HERE FOR ONCE. HOORAY.**

 **Morrisville is nice enough, I suppose. I could use more otakus and anime fans here, though. My roommate is a "party hard" kind of guy, he's never in the dorm room. Don't understand why.**

 **Well, most of my time I think will be on Fridays and Sundays, so those'll probably be the times when I post. I have decided that I will be rebooting Thorns at some point, but I am still going to be keeping the first one up. This time around, people are gonna stay dead with less loose ends. I hated that I did that, honestly.**

 **WEll, here's my first chapter released out of college, wish me luck, guys!**

Tony swooped low to the ground, between two trees, to avoid the tentacle smashing down to the earth below.

Hulk was strong and powerful, but he was nothing compared to Yang's temper. Hulk knocked it over pretty well with his hit and he had the advantage of weight and mass, but what he lacked was the sheer explosive power behind the enraged fists of one Yang Xiao Long, who hit the thing hard enough to dent its shield. Oh, and she had the power of the Infinity Stone exponentially increasing her strength.

The metal exterior was light enough that it hadn't caused catastrophic enough damage to create a crater by the time it landed after being sent careening, but it wasn't not heavy, either. The creature lifted itself from the ground and turned its eye in the direction of the inferno blazing nearby. Its response was to lift a tentacle into the sky and whip it directly at her.

"Yang, _look out_!" Tony cried out, but by that time the tentacle hit...

But when the HUD's view zoomed in on the receiver of such a powerful attack, Yang had caught it. No, she hadn't just caught it; she was _holding_ it.

"Holy hell, when in the world did someone stronger than Hulk show up?"

"Sir, her power levels rose back up! She's got enough kinetic energy stored to level a small city!" Friday reported.

"Is it the Soul Stone's residual power?" Tony wondered, hovering back skyward.

"Yes, sir! Yang was among the two to hold it; she's absorbed nearly half of its raw energy. It's not just boosting her power, it's multiplied nearly six times her original potential!"

As if to show off exactly what the AI was talking about, Yang pulled back a fist, her eyes glowing red and her teeth gritted, and put the fist right into the tentacle.

The Iron Man was a man who lived to see the most spectacular of feats. Shattering one entire tentacle of a self-repairing, sentient, invincible robot octopus after catching it effortlessly was probably among the most spectacular. Yang's fist had sent shockwaves along the metal limb, effectively disintegrating and disabling the limb. An explosion followed closely after, then the creature bellowed and whipped another tentacle out. It smashed into Yang and buried her in a huge trench created by her body traveling the speed of sound through the dirt. She disappeared beneath the canopy of the trees and effectively created a cave, but what little damage it did to her, she made up for in her power rising even _higher_.

The creature loomed above, turning its gaze back to the city. It was going to go back in!

"Hulk, knock it down!" Tony yelled, "We can't let it back in!"

The roar of the massive mauler echoed through the forest as trees were ripped up and the Incredible Hulk sprinted through the woods and leapt toward the creature. A well-placed kick knocked over the cybernetic cephalopod with an echoing _GOOOOONNGGGG_!

"Sir, the unidentified bogey is getting closer. It is exceedingly small."

"Friday, we literally have bigger fish to fry, can't it wait?" Tony said, analyzing his HUD for information about the creature. New items were popping up, such as databases and newly revealed weak points. Yang and Hulk certainly did a number on the thing. Its Aura, whatever energy type it was, had been interfering with his scanner since the thing showed up. He now knew that its name was Oct, according to a database, and was a legendary creature that was the mythical creator of the Grimm, whatever those were. Readouts were saying it was made of a material at was a combination of titanium and aluminum, making it extremely light and extremely tough.

But not Vibranium tough.

"Cap, I've got an idea!"

Tony swooped low over the little cave Yang had just created with her body. The temperature around his suit actually spiked by several degrees. He didn't dare go into the cave to check on Yang; her Aura definitely protected her. The Soul Stone effectively made her invulnerable.

"Well, spit it out, Stark! It's getting back up!"

"The thing is shielded and made of a titanium-aluminum alloy shell encasing some ancient equipment, which means it's probably fragile on the inside. If we can breach the armor casing, we can kill it."

"How tough is titanium-aluminum alloy, might I ask?" Cap wondered from the other end of the radio.

"Not as tough as a Vibranium shield traveling through it at twice the speed of sound."

"And you think even Hulk can do that? He's gonna have to fight forever to get that angry."

"Not if Yang takes a few more hits. Her Semblance is exponentially increasing her strength and her durability is about the same as the thing's. If we can just get your shield to Yang before the thing stops us, we can kill it in one shot."

A long silence, and then Cap answered with, "Catch."

The signature warping sound of the legendary shield drawing nearby indicated to Stark that it was probably heading straight at him. He turned barely caught it as it whizzed past, then looked down into the hole. It was bright. Too bright for the suit's visual sensors.

"Friday, try to dim our view."

The HUD read: **_VISUAL SENSOR OPACITY LEVEL RISING TO 90%._**

Tony's view dramatically darkened, but it was still incredibly bright, like a flashlight being flashed in his eyes. He could, however, make out a silhouette. A really, really angry silhouette.

"Tony, don't get too close!" Ruby warned through the radio from Cap's end, "The Stone's messing with her head! I don't know if she'll be able to hold herself back after taking so much damage, and she isn't happy with you already!"

Tony sighed and braced himself before stepping into the hole, and he was engulfed in heat immediately. It was as if he stood inside an oven.

"Friday, get the system cooling!"

"Working on it! The system isn't able to keep up!"

Tony pushed through and approached the figure. She was kneeling, whispering. What was she doing?

"Yang, we've figured out how to beat that thing."

Yang wasn't paying attention. She was still whispering to some unseen thing.

"Friday, get the Mark IIIL headed out now and have it waiting. I'm about to do something I think I'll regret."

Tony found that the armor, while it had cooled down, was failing to keep the heat at bay. He also knew that to take it off was likely suicide. He would die of heat stroke in seconds.

"Yang, snap out of it. We need your—"

"Weiss."

Yang was still looking down at the ground. She was whispering the name over and over. What was wrong with her?

"Yang—"

"Weiss has become imperiled. I must protect her."

Yang rose, but she was faced away and speaking in words that Tony was sure Yang was unlikely to use in her vocabulary more then once in her life. "Ruby, does your sister usually talk like a dictionary and stand really calmly when she's angry?"

"What? I thought she would try to kill you for sure. Be careful. I've never seen her so calm after getting hit so hard before."

"Hurry up, Stark!" Cap yelled, "Hulk is having a hell of a time with the big guy and Vision isn't much help this time!"

"I must pursue Weiss's assailants," Yang muttered, "I must ensure the security of Weiss and the Soul Stone. I must..."

"You must be really angry to resort to intelligent speech, Yang," Tony said, reaching forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. The metal on the gauntlet heated to glowing red temperature in seconds. He pulled his hand away. "Come on, we've gotta stop this thing still."

"I must rush to Weiss's aid. I must—"

Stark snarled. "Hey, listen to me, Yang!

He reached forward again and gripped a handful of Yang's hair and pulled back.

Yang whirled, a fist raised and her teeth gritted, her eyes completely red including the whites. Tony lifted Cap's shield and the next thing he knew, he wasn't in the heat. He wasn't in the cave. He wasn't even in his suit.

He was laying, completely unprotected, in the grass, where he landed after Yang hit him hard enough to disintegrate his suit _on contact_. And she hadn't even _hit_ the suit.

She hit the shield. Tony sat up and looked around, seeing the cave and seeing the girl who beat the Iron Man in one punch, and then Tony looked down at the shield still on his arm.

It had a fist-shaped dent an inch deep pounded into it.

 ** _Elsewhere..._**

Ruby gasped when Tony flew out of the Yang-made cave with nothing but charred clothes and Steve's shield on his arm.

"Dust!" Ruby swore, "Yang just turned on Tony!"

"Oh, no," Steve sighed in exasperation, "She's too dangerous. We've gotta aim her at that thing _now_."

Ruby saw in her peripheral vision the form of another of Tony's suits flying in. This one looked a little smoother and sleeker than the last one, but faster, too. It flew down and landed in front of Tony, then opened up.

Then out of the cave came...Yang.

"Oh, my..."

Yang no longer glowed with her telltale golden fire, and her irises alone were not red. In fact, Yang no longer bore a resemblance to her usual self.

Yang was now shrouded in shadow, radiating tendrils of flame as her blackened skin burned with dark fire. Her eyes were completely red, and her body moved with a malevolently slow, shambling gait. Through her scope, Yang was not Yang. Yang was a monster.

"Is that normal?!" Tony said over the radio as he jumped into his suit and took off as soon as possible.

"No! Whatever the Stone is doing to her is...it's altering her, turning her into something else! If she doesn't expend all of that energy soon, she could..."

"She could what?"

"She might turn into the biggest threat anyone has ever seen."

"Well, she dented Vibranium. Hulk couldn't even do that. She's extremely dangerous. How do we stop her?"

Ruby thought for a moment. Yang still shambled along, but now she was looking up at the creature, who was currently facing off with Banner—or, rather, the Hulk. "Her Semblance operates a certain way. Whatever energy her Aura builds up dissipates with each hit she doles out. If she can hit the creature even once, we can stop her and kill the creature in one go."

"And that'll work?" Steve asked. Ruby shook her head.

"If it doesn't, everyone is done for."

Steve scowled. "Hulk, new plan. Grab Yang and throw her at the beast."

"Steve, are you crazy?" Stark snapped, "She could kill him!"

"If there is one person I can think of that can take on someone strong enough to dent MY shield, it's Hulk. All we can do is hope that he can do it."

Ruby turned her scope to Hulk and the creature. The green goliath diverted his attention from the cephalopod and began hastily rushing in the direction of her sister.

"Penny," Ruby said into the little communicator Steve had given her, "Think you can immobilize that thing long enough to get Yang close enough?"

"Sure I can," Penny answered in a chipper tone, "I'm combat ready!"

The android set to work, utilizing her cabled blades to string the tentacles together and keeping the creature still while Ruby's sister entered into a fight with the other most angry being in existence.

 _ **The Quincarrier...**_

Cinder giggled to herself as she walked nonchalantly to the doors of the bridge.

The doors themselves were locked and she could feel something radiating from them. Raw energy, and the way it shimmered and writhed, a telekinetic power. She smiled evilly and held her palm up to face the door.

A rune-ringed circle formed on the door, and the familiar scream of the air superheating filled the corridor. The door glowed bright and exploded into a thousand hot, metallic shards.

 _Too easy._

She swaggered into the room and looked around. According to Thanos, the Stone would be orange, and would call out to her when she grew near due to her Aura.

 _There_.

Locked within a small, plastic sphere, clasped in the hand of a woman with brown hair and a red vest-like jacket. She stood in a strange pose, seemingly making claws with her fingers.

"Oh, yes, you must be the dangerous one I have heard so much about," Cinder taunted, grinning sideways, "It couldn't be your white-themed friend. Far too easily beaten by my servants."

Suddenly, screeching metal notified her that the ceiling supports were falling to surround her and trap her in. They created a dome around her and she heard an accented voice, no doubt from her opponent.

"I won't let you have this Stone. You will destroy us all if you give it up."

"Oh, I know," Cinder smiled. She bided up a blast and released, destroying her stainless steel prison. "I also don't care."

She held her hands out and the scream cut through the atmosphere as her blades formed in her hands. She twirled them and entered fighting stance.

 _SCCCCCHHHHWIIIIING_!

"If you will not yield, then we must kill you." A new assailant.

Cinder needed not turn to face her second challenger. She was Gamora, daughter of Thanos and among the deadliest assassins in the galaxy. A woman known for her dangerous style, and her cybernetic enhancements only increased the size of the threat she posed. Strong, fast, and possessed incredible reflexes. Too dangerous for anyone but Cinder herself to handle.

"We won't let you take it." A third.

Cinder chuckled. This would be a three-versus-one fight. A perfect match.

Pyrrha Nikos stood behind her, shield and javelin drawn. She and Gamora stood shoulder to shoulder, with the scarlet witch standing before her. This would hardly be a fair fight.

 _For them._

Cinder heard the blade slicing through the air, coming from her right. She ducked left and performed a cartwheel, the blade passing harmlessly above her, and she entered a handspring to put herself in the air. Locking her blades together and conjuring her bowstring and two arrows, she fired with a malicious grin on her face. The arrows hit the ground in front of the champion and assassin, where Cinder had been standing just a second before. Pyrrha shoved Gamora out of the way and flipped backwards to avoid the explosion.

Cinder landed gracefully atop a catwalk above, then summoned three arrows attached to the string and fired again, this time aiming at the lights, which shattered, engulfing the room in shadow and leaving the moon's as the only light within the bridge.

"Only cowards fight from darkness, thief," Gamora growled, looking up and around for Cinder, but in darkness, Cinder was everywhere, yet nowhere.

"Though there is no honor among thieves, assassin, there is irony among murderers," Cinder retorted, her voice echoing off the ceiling and walls. She bounded across several supports and struts to reach another catwalk several meters away.

"Death is sometimes a necessary price to pay."

Cinder leapt from the railing and hooked her legs around another strut's triangular slats. Five arrows formed on the string as she drew it back and aimed. "Then surely you understand."

She released, this time the arrows aimed at Pyrrha Nikos, who whipped around as she heard the bowstring snap back into place. The gladiator girl blocked two with her shield while another two missed. The last one embedded itself in her knee.

"Nngh!" Pyrrha grunted. Dropping to one knee, she tugged on the arrow, but Cinder chuckled loudly and fired another arrow. It stuck from Pyrrha's foot on contact. The champion cried out in pain.

Cinder went to nock another arrow when the strut she hung from felt as if it were giving way. She felt it break a moment later and she dropped from it. Nocking the arrow anyway, she fired it at another set of struts. It extended into a rope of sorts that she used to swing down and release, entering a combat roll to slow her momentum and summoning a new arrow midroll and firing at the witch as she reached a kneeling position. The witch whipped her hand out and deflected the arrow, which disintegrated and turned into a spiraling stream of ash that crested the wave of energy and reformed as an arrow. It zoned in on the witch and she ducked to the side to avoid the projectile.

"You missed," the woman said in her odd accent.

"Did I?" Cinder smiled confidently.

The arrow embedded in the floor sizzled and then screamed as it heated up the floor around it, priming it to explode. The woman watched it with confusion as it grew hotter and hotter, and then...

 _Boom!_

She was sent flying, and Cinder rolled backwards into a cartwheel and wound up back on her feet. She looked down at the small, plastic sphere the witch dropped and held her hand out. The sphere was lifted into the air by the ashes Cinder controlled, levitating to her palm, and it was deposited in her hand. The ashes reformed into a nocked arrow. She grinned.

"The power will be mine," Cinder cackled quietly.

Fire engulfed the sphere, melting the plastic and exposing the Infinity Stone. She immediately felt the power coursing through her, brought upon her by the Stone, as it flooded her body almost too fast to withstand. It was agony, really, but such power was worth the pain.

"No!"

Cinder turned her gaze to Gamora, who was standing up and drawing a knife. She held it by the tip of the blade and threw it overhand, sending it wheeling in Cinder's direction. She caught it nonchalantly between her own to fingers and threw it back, where it slashed the assassin across the cheek and bounced away.

"I hold power in my hands tonight," Cinder grinned, holding out her bow. It disintegrated to ashes, which flew and encased the Stone, then reformed as the bow again. It glowed bright orange and it seemed to have an eye above the notch that was the Stone.

Gunshots rang out and bullets hit her in the chest, the abdomen, even the face, but they simply crumpled and fell. Her Aura was far too powerful now.

Cinder chuckled to herself and focused on Pyrrha, who held rifle aimed in her direction. She was still pinned. She lifted her bow and drew the string back. The arrow glowed with bright orange light almost blinding to look at, and Cinder aimed. She wouldn't kill the champion...but she would make the girl suffer.

Pyrrha drew her shield and switched her rifle into javelin form, taking aim herself. She launched the javelin as Cinder released, firing her arrow...

The shield did nothing. It was but paper compared to the sheer power and energy of the arrow that was surrounded in the energy of gods. It shattered the metal of the shield and kept going, ripping into Pyrrha's shoulder, but still it keep going, tearing with it all it passed through. Pyrrha screamed, and for good reason; after all, her arm was just detached forcefully from her body. She collapsed in agony to the floor, holding the stump that was her arm.

The arrow continued yet, blasting large holes in several walls behind its intended target before finally stopping. It lodged itself in something several corridors away, halting its progress and showing exactly what kind of power even a weak blow from an Infinity Stone could do.

Cinder laughed and looked at her bow, at the eye seemingly forged above the grip. If this was the power the Stone could deliver, she could only imagine the power hidden inside the young Rose.

She walked to the door, unconcerned about the assassin standing guard before it. Gamora drew a sword from nowhere and swiped at Cinder as she drew near, but it did nothing as Cinder moved too fast for even the assassin's enhanced eyes to handle. The alien woman slashed downward, and Cinder dodged left, ducked under a sideways slice, and used the bladed edge of her bow to cut across the assassin's shins. Blood flowed with a yell, and Cinder whirled to smash her elbow into the assassin's forehead. The green-skinned one fell unconscious on impact.

"Hmph," Cinder sighed with boredom in her voice, "Too easy."

She turned to the door and approached it. And now, for the dramatic exit...

Screeching metal flew down and blocked the doorway, rippling and bending until it completely obstructed the door. Cinder shook her head. "Persistent," she muttered.

She turned to see the source was none other than the witch. The woman was breathing hard, as if exhausted by the mere use of her powers. She was focused yet distracted. A self-destructive combination, in Cinder's experience.

"No. Don't give that man the Stone. He'll kill everyone, even you."

Cinder chuckled. "You think he'll kill everyone. But you're wrong."

She lifted her bow and drew her string back, aimed at the woman's heart.

"He can't kill what's already dead."

The bowstring seemed to release in slow motion as the arrow was loosed and formed a cone of destructive energy in front of it. The witch registered with horror the sight before her, and then surprise as it ripped a hole through her the size of a fist. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the floor with a thud.

"Heroes are only detriments to themselves, never truly stopping the evil they combat," Cinder said as the woman lay dying, "It's a shame. Your power had potential. Too bad you got in my way."

Cinder returned to the barrier the witch had formed and shot another arrow at it, destroying it with an explosion and walking through with her objective in one hand and her other to her ear.

"It's time we take our leave," Cinder said with a dark laugh, "I have what we came for."

She left the room behind, ignoring the rapid footsteps coming down the corridor behind her; they wouldn't see her. She wouldn't let them.


	16. The Strongest There Is

**Hi, guys, new chapter here! So, I went through this for the last hour and revised it because I had two characters suffering the same fate two chapters in a row, so I decided on a gutshot instead of dismemberment. I also decided that Hulk is better to write as the comic-oriented version that talks rather than the ape-like cinematic one because it is far easier.**

 **I foresee somebody saying stuff like, "Hey! Yang could never beat Hulk that easily! Hulk is stronger than her and tougher!" For the record, Yang is empowered by the energy of the Soul Stone. I've already had one person ask about it. Basically, she's practically invincible for the time being and gains power at a higher rate than normal because she's basically a blonde, more busty Ronan the Accuser at the moment. So, there's a bit of explanation before protests start in.**

 **So, anyway, without further ado, here's my second college posting of Gods Among Women!**

 ** _The Valean Forest..._**

Ruby watched the scene unfolding from a distance, surrounded by Steve, Natasha and Clint.

Hulk, facing off against a black creature that had somehow evolved from a golden Huntress. Yang, laying into Hulk and daring him to hit her again. Penny, in a desperate fight to keep the creature contained, with aid from the airborne members of the Avengers. None of it seemed to be going well.

This was her first big battle, and she was losing when she couldn't afford to lose? Ruby growled in frustration. Yang was fighting her own ally, Weiss was off fighting hijackers led apparently by Blake the traitor, Jaune was MIA, Nora and Ren weren't even in this universe, and Pyrrha was in the sickbay still. And Sun and his team were busy on the carrier, no doubt trying to handle someone out of their league.

Some leader she was. She didn't even have a team to command now.

"We're getting ripped to shreds," Steve said, sighing, "This is the most trouble we've had dealing with a Stone, and we've had three."

"We can do this," Ruby said, giving a forced smile and trying to give herself false hope, "We have to. We're the good guys. The good guys always win, right?"

"That depends on your definition of "good," child."

Steve and Ruby whipped around to see the source of the newest voice. A towering, lavender-skinned Titan of a man with a suit of gold armor and a blue undersuit. On one hand he wore a large golden gauntlet with a glowing gem in a socket on the back of his hand. Behind him, a throne made from stone floated above the rooftop. On the ground lay Natasha and Clint, unconscious and crumpled.

"Who are you?" Steve said, raising to his towering full height and only reaching about two thirds the titan's size.

"I am Thanos. I trust you have heard of me?"

Ruby began to tremble in fear despite herself. This was...he...he was the one behind all of this. The one from the nightmares.

"You sent the monster, didn't you?" Steve said, and the giant nodded. He put his hands together behind his back, holding one of his wrists with the other, and began to pace back and forth.

"I did send it, yes. For being an advanced artificial intelligence, it is surprisingly gullible, especially given it was meant to protect an Infinity Stone."

"Do you know how much death and destruction you have caused tonight?" Steve pointed out at the center of the city. "How many people have died because of you?"

"Oh, yes, I know, it is lovely, isn't it?" Thanos grinned maniacally, putting his arms to his sides with his fists bunched, "It will please my lady Death so to see just how plentifully her blessing has fallen upon this city tonight."

Ruby, though she shook in her boots, shrugged off the Dust-filled backpack on her back and pulled the bolt on Crescent Rose. "Y-you're a monster."

"Am I truly a monster for seeking favor with my future bride, mortal?"

Ruby felt tears well up in her eyes and she lifted her rifle to point it at Thanos. She fired. He disappeared.

Then, suddenly, Thanos was in her face, and a hard impact in the side of her head sent her tumbling to the far edge of the rooftop.

"Ruby!"

Steve called her name, but she felt her sluggishness return and she staggered to her feet. Her vision was swimming. She tasted blood.

"I wield an Infinity Stone, mortals. You cannot hope to defeat me."

In the distance, Ruby heard Hulk roaring, though she didn't know if it was Yang hitting him or vice versa. The creature was fighting off some unseen force—Penny's blades and the airborne Avengers—and Tony was nowhere to be seen. Thanos was holding Steve by the throat.

"Cap!"

The Armored Avenger rocketed past her, holding Steve's shield, and smashed into Thanos. The Titan dropped Steve and flopped to the rooftop after a moment of being airborne. Tony landed and offered the shield to its rightful owner.

"Thanks," Steve slipped his arm through the braces and looked for a long second at the dent in his defense. He turned his attention back to Thanos.

Ruby jogged up to them, Cresent Rose transforming to scythe form. She looked at the two Avengers.

"He's got a Stone, what do we do?"

"Don't let him hit you, as hard as that might be," Steve said, "If we separate him from his Stone, he'll be weaker. Maybe not enough for us, but weaker."

Ruby spun the scythe around in her hand and pulled the bolt again, but she knew this was a fight they wouldn't win.

Thanos rose to his feet with a confident smile on his face. "Good. I can crush the coward, the fool, and the weak, all in one blow."

He lifted his armored hand and made a fist, the Stone there glowing, and he swiped his hand horizontally, creating an arc that spread from himself.

"Duck!" Steve cried, and he and Ruby did so. Tony wasn't as fortunate, considering how slow his armor made him, and he was sent flying across the rooftop. He smashed downward and fell through.

"Worthless opponent," Thanos shook his head, "He thought his armor would save him."

Steve was the first to react is time. He stood up and spun around, whipping his shield in Thanos' direction. When it struck the Titan in the shoulder, it bounced straight up, where Steve sprinted up and leaped to catch it. He came back down spinning vertically, shield out. Thanos took the blow to the back of the head with a KLANG!

Thanos was knocked down, and Ruby ran forward at the kneeling maniac. She activated her Semblance, and everything slowed to a stop. The Soul Stone must have permanently strengthened her Semblance and Aura, which might be why Yang was so much more powerful.

Ruby ran and hammered the blunt edge of her scythe against the side of Thanos' head, putting him in an awkward pose. She flowed through the motion and squeezed the trigger when the barrel drew into alignment with the Mad Titan's head, releasing a round. That, upon exiting the barrel, was also affected by the slowing of time. Ruby jumped to the Titan's back and leapt behind him, swinging the scythe down and catching a knee. She left the blade hooked around her opponent's leg and fired. The leg disappeared.

No. _He_ disappeared.

She panicked. Where did he go? Did her Semblance deactivate or something?

Then, in a flash of green light and a dark cackle, she was flying through the air.

She skipped across the roof, her flesh feeling as if it were on fire. She panted rapidly, feeling the sweat pouring from her skin. She got up and staggered to turn and face the Titan. Steve helped her up, his gloves touching the bare skin on her arm telling ther that her skirt just got ripped open.

"I see the Soul Stone has given you power, young mortal," Thanos chuckled darkly, standing nigh unscathed where Ruby had been before, "How nice. Shame I wield one, as well, isn't it?"

 _How in the world did he...? There's no way he was faster than me. Nothing is faster than me._

Thanos looked down at his feet. Ruby followed his gaze. Crescent Rose lay open before him.

"No!" Ruby cried out, pushing past Steve, who failed to restrain the girl from going after her prized possession. She charged Thanos, who had picked up HER weapon, HER baby, and was now toying with it. Green lines spidered along its frame, coming from his Stone. He chuckled and lowered it, pointing it at his assailant. He found the open trigger and set his finger on it.

"Ruby, _no_!" Steve yelled, but she ignored it and sprinted ever faster, until time slowed practically to a stop once more.

Ruby jumped, aiming to kick him in the face using her momentum. The caped combatant, however, was far, far too unfortunate for that, as Thanos's body glowed green and he chuckled, unaffected by her Semblance.

"Oh, mortals, please, never change."

Thanos sneered, grinned, and pulled the trigger, and then white hot, searing, unbelievable pain erupted in Ruby's abdomen. She couldn't help but scream.

 _ **-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- (hopefully this works as a divider)**_

Steve watched in horror and helplessness as Ruby's shoulder was separated from her torso, along with anything else connected to it.

Ruby hit the roof and bounced.

"Oh, my," Thanos said with amusement in his voice, "I almost killed my quarry. Oh, well. She won't need that arm, anyway."

Steve snarled. He wanted to run up and help the writhing Ruby, but he knew if he did, that weapon, that scythe, would be the death of him, and that wouldn't be good for either of them.

"Mortals. Utter fools," Thanos chuckled, planting the scythe blade in the roof. He drew closer to Ruby and picked her up by her ankle. She was bleeding from her intestines.

"You're going to pay for that."

"And what, Captain, would that be? Will I be paying for that in bluffs?" The Titan slung the girl over his shoulder so she hung there. Her profuse, intestinal bleeding left his pauldron stained.

"We'll beat you. We always pull through."

"Feel free," Thanos said, turning away. A stone throne hovered low to the rooftop, seemingly appearing from nowhere. He climbed up onto it and sat down. "I've a way of dealing with you."

"Go ahead," Steve stood up with his shoulders squared, "I can do this all day."

"I'm afraid you haven't that much time," The Mad Titan shook his head, "Your world is in danger."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

"But do you plan to do anything about the Chitauri fleet I have sent to assault your world?"

Steve's heart sunk. "A fleet?"

"Yes," Thanos said as the throne floated off, "And I advise you handle it. Tick tock, Captain. Your world's clock is ticking."

Then, Thanos blinked out of existence in a flash of green, taking Steve's teenage ally with him.

He shook his head and returned his attention to the monster. It was almost out of reach. It had to die.

"Hulk, get her taken care of, _now_!"

 ** _The battlefield..._**

Hulk smashed the puny girl into the dirt once again, and she came back up and slugged him.

Hulk roared. She simply wouldn't stay down.

"Hulk, get her taken care of, _now_!" Captain said, and Hulk bellowed, punched the girl. She slid on her feet backward, making a big trench. She leapt and bound at him. She jumped into the air, her shadowy fist raised in the air. She came down and smashed Hulk into the ground. His body made a crater.

Dizzy, Hulk was. Very dizzy.

"Hulk, come on! You're the only chance we've got!" Captain said.

Dizzy.

"Hulk, please!" Captain pleaded.

Dizzy.

"Hey...big guy," Hulk heard Black Redhead in the radio, "Hulk wouldn't...let some weak...ugh...girl, pound on him...would he?"

Dizzy. Dizzy, angry. Angry. Angry.

 _Angry._

 _Angry_.

"Hulk..."

The green goliath shot up out of the crater and down to the grass. The girl turned in an unnervingly zombie-like fashion.

" _SMASH_!"

Hulk came down with a punch descending upon her. Dark Blondie mirrored it. Fists clashed. They pushed. She was was winning the push as Hulk struggled to gain his footing.

She was not stronger. Not stronger than Hulk. Hulk is strongest.

Hulk is strongest there is.

Hulk. Is. Strongest. There. Is.

" _HULK...IS...STRONGEST..._ "

He reached forward quickly, gripped her hair, and jumped up.

"... _THERE_..."

He spun in midair and threw her at the tentacle monster.

" _IS_!"

To say she was a bullet was like saying the sun was a gas bubble in a candle.

The girl hit the tentacle monster, and it was like watching a silver-colored sand castle crumbling after having a strong, tiny foot kick through it. Its parts flew out of the other side like a cloud of dust blasting from a broken vacuum cleaner. The metal rained upon the forest below, but the monster was no more.

"Hulk, you shattered it!"

"Good job...big guy..." Black Redhead said in the radio, "Ya killed it...good...job..."

Hulk roared triumphantly. _"HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!"_

"We can't celebrate now, guys," Captain said grimly, "Vision, find Yang and Penny, and Rhodey, find Stark and Quicksilver. Everyone else, get back to the rooftop. I've got bad news and worse news."

Hulk looked up at the rooftop. He started running toward it.

"Why? What happened, Cap?" Silver Metal Man asked.

"Thanos showed up and took Ruby."

A long silence. Silver Metal Man swore.

"What's the worse news?"

"The Chitauri are coming for Earth."


	17. Fallen Carrier

**Well, would you look at that. Who hath returned unto the fold? Myself, the Asura Boss! Sorry for the unexpected hiatus for all involved, I'm working for my school's newspaper and that takes up a FUCKTON of my time. Sometimes I don't even sleep. That happens twice a week for two days straight, since I have to go around interviewing people. But, sacrifices must be made, of course, as much as I despise abandoning my hobby.**

 **So! Volume 4 is out now, then? I have only seen episode 1, please no spoilers for me, I have to watch it on YouTube since the RT site is blocked on my campus network (go figure). I'm digging the new look, as well, but I'm iffy on that Tyrian guy. He seems like an attempt at a post-chemical-bath, The Killing Joke-style Joker. Also, I like the scarred Cinder. I like the look, and it goes to show how powerful Ruby really is. Can't wait to see how it goes from here.**

 **So, recap: two month hiatus, my apologies, RWBY V4 was released, I am a journalist-in-training, and I'm excited. Happy Halloween, everyone!**

 _ **The battlefield...**_

Yang groaned, pulling herself out of whatever pit she was currently dug into.

Her entire body was sore. Not just sore, actually; she was in great pain just trying to move.

What happened? She remembered being pummeled by the monster, and then...

She panted and shuffled to a nearby chunk of scrap metal, where she leaned against it, breathless. What happened? What the _hell_ happened?

"Yang Xiao Long."

Yang semi-recognized the voice and breathed, "Hey. Where's the monster?"

The Vision set down behind her, making little noise other than the crunching of dry dirt beneath his metal feet. "You're standing in it."

Yang took several seconds to process this information, but because she was so tired, the only response she gave was, "Huh."

"You entered some sort of darkened rage and Doctor Banner used you as a projectile. Tell me, do you usually become shrouded in a black aura?"

"Nuh," Yang replied, sitting down on a raised mound of dirt.

"Then my hypothesis is that the Soul Stone has the power to trigger a sort of ultimatum if its hosts are overwhelmed. Perhaps that is what happened."

Yang nodded weakly. She had only felt this tired after her first day of Huntress training ever. She was damned exhausted.

"Ruby's sister!"

Penny sprung up out of nowhere and ran over to Yang, who greeted the girl with a small, "Hey."

"I've been told we need to go back to that rooftop over there," Penny said with curiosity, "I wonder why?"

Yang waved her off even though it was agony to move her joints. She was gonna need a drink before she was doing anything. She was parched.

A pair of cold arms lifted her from behind, and she looked up into Vision's face. He was flying now—well, they both were—and they would reach their destination soon. Penny was riding on a makeshift swingset with the strings from her swords wrapped around Vision's waist. They got to the rooftop rather quickly, finding Steve, Natasha, Clint, a bunch of the other Avengers, and the unarmored Tony Stark. He saw Yang land and took a step back when she got to solid ground. Well, roof.

"You about snapped out of that little tantrum you had going there, Blondie?" Tony looked at her angrily and spoke calmly, to which she replied with a breathy "What?"

"Oh, you know damn well what," he hissed, "You almost killed me."

"I don't remember doing a damn thing like that more than that one time."

"You're going to make a real dent in my wallet at this rate if the dent in my ribcage doesn't kill me first!"

"Stark, Long, can it, we've got problems enough already, we don't need to be calling up the Hulkbuster."

Yang obliged and looked around. Pietro was sitting and holding a little metal emblem that Yang recognized as her sister's belt buckle. Colonel Rhodey was standing off in the corner. Sam Wilson was looking grim, but then, so were the rest of them. Even Doctor Banner was there, just not all Hulky or...clothed, really. Penny, Vision, herself...

Wait. Why was Pietro holding her sister's belt buckle?

"Hey, where's Ruby?" Yang entered panic mode. Where was her sister? She was on this rooftop, where could she have gone?

She looked at Steve, then at Tony and Natasha and Clint. They looked ashamed.

"Thanos took her."

Yang heard this and felt she should have been angry. She wondered very briefly if she was even affected, but alas she was too tired to feel any sort of rage. She sighed. She couldn't even get tears going or anything. She just wanted to sleep the century away.

"I..." Yang began, but then she sighed and said, "Damn."

"Ruby has been taken by someone?" Penny asked innocently, "I do hope she'll be okay. She always turns out okay, doesn't she? Not to worry, we'll beat him and rescue her!"

"Why are you so naive?" Tony snapped at the ginger-haired girl, "Don't you see we all just got our asses handed to us, Ruby was quite possibly mortally wounded and captured, someone is making an attempt on the Stone as we speak, the city is burning and crumbling, and not a single one of us can do a damn thing about any of it?!"

Steve whipped around to face Tony. "Not that your pessimism is helping much, Stark."

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you looking for me to be bright and cheery about the bleakness of our very near future? Sorry, you'll have to go to Freckles over there for that, I'm far too much of a realist."

Penny pointed at herself. "Am I Freckles?"

"You're an idiot is what you are. If you think we can possibly win this fight against some dark God, then feel free to toss yourself in front of him and see how that works for you."

"Hey, leave her out of this, she was doing most of the work with the monster," Cap shoved one of Tony's shoulders, and the inventor got up in his face.

"Tony, back off," Natasha warned, "You're overstepping your boundaries here."

"Yeah, well, I think everybody is understepping them," Tony snarled, looking around, "We are dealing with someone way out of our league. We had trouble with our whole team against an alien invasion and an army of robots, and now we're fighting a god with both under his control, and probably more, not to mention we had a traitor in our midst who sold us out the moment she could have done it without getting hurt in the process."

"Hey," Yang grunted, her sore muscles coercing her into a stalwart stance, "Blake is many things, but she isn't a coward."

"Technically, running away and letting other people do your dirty work after befriending your enemy is cowardice," Banner interjected for the first time in the conversation.

"He's right, you know," Vision added.

"Exactly. If your friend hadn't sold us out," Tony snapped at Yang, pointing one filthy, accusing finger at her, "We wouldn't be in this mess. Your "friend" is a coward and a traitor, and the next time I see her, she's dead."

"Then you'll have to go through me," Yang snarled back. Her rage was returning even if her energy wasn't.

"Fine then, come on, give me your best shot."

"Oh, I will, old man, I wi—"

" _SHUT THE HELL UP!_ "

Everyone whirled and looked at Pietro. He held Ruby's belt buckle in one hand and a backpack in the other. His face was red with both blood and anger.

"All of you, just. Shut. _Up_."

The silver speedster held up the rose emblem. He walked forward slowly and entered the circle of people, shoving Tony and Steve apart. Everyone now gathered around him while he stood at the center of the rooftop.

"Do you see this? Do you see it?"

Pietro had a vein popping out of his forehead. He was gritting his teeth. He was furious. Probably more than Yang usually was.

"This is the symbol of a girl who knew she was going to die and fought anyway," Pietro looked around at the different people of the group, and Yang actually felt shame for it. He turned to Tony.

"The girl who just wanted to be _your_ friend is now probably getting things done to her that are worse than what my sister and I ever went through. She wanted to help you. _You_. The one man that wants to run away from his problems. Maybe you should have her powers and she should have your suits, since you're into running away so quickly."

Tony opened his mouth to speak.

"If another word comes out of your god-damned mouth," Pietro threatened, "I will beat you to death before you reach the end of your sentence."

Tony still looked as if he were about to say something. Pietro lifted up the backpack and shoved it against Tony's chest. He grabbed the bag. "What's this?"

"Those are things that Ruby seemed to think you really needed," Pietro looked the inventor in the eye and glared, "She found those for you before we started running. Told me that's how you were going to build your new suit. She stuffed her pockets, too, because she thought you would need a lot."

Yang wondered herself what was in the backpack as Tony rummaged through it. He pulled something out. A Dust Crystal. As in, the one that magicians used to turn solid things into liquids and back again. Pietro added the brunette's emblem to the bag.

"She talked about you," Pietro looked around at each of the Avengers and the two last Remnant dwellers on the team. He shook his head. "She wanted to impress you all. She wanted to be an Avenger. She had that look in her eye, the one that Wanda had when we stopped Ultron. She thinks we're all good people doing the right thing."

He turned back to Stark.

"She wanted to impress you the most, you know. She liked inventing things with you. I do not know her well, but I do know that she saw something in us that we didn't. I think you of all people, Stark, should feel like you need to live up to that."

Pietro shook his head, and Yang realized that this little pep talk that he was giving was probably the first he'd ever given, and entirely fueled by anger. He wasn't a natural leader like Steve, and he wasn't clever like Tony, or cunning like Natasha, or smart like Bruce or practical like Clint. He was just fast, and here he was, trying to unite the team that was breaking down on itself in the name of a girl he barely knew. He looked out of place, but Yang understood. The leader wasn't the only one that could try.

"Pietro's right," Steve said, stepping forward, "We need to stand strong here. Come up with a plan. Act as a team and keep ourselves from running away from the fight, as much as we might want to. We have to do this. For Earth, for Remnant. If we fail Earth, Remnant, or...Xandar, whatever that is, then we've failed Ruby, and in turn, we have failed everyone. It's time we stop having our own little civil war and be the Avengers again."

A long silence, and then Tony spoke up. He was holding Ruby's emblem.

"I second that, I suppose."

Penny stepped forward. "For Ruby!"

Yang, knowing she couldn't fail her sister until she was dead, joined the freckle-faced girl. "For Ruby!"

One by one, each of the individuals standing on the roof joined the circle, until all of them had proclaimed, "For Ruby." Each of them looked around. Steve spoke up again.

"We need to return to the carrier. We need to see if the Stone is okay."

"Friday, send the Quinjet over," Tony said, "And get the Model L blueprint laid out. Have our hijackers been taken care of?"

"Unfortunately, no," The A.I. reported grimly, "We have several wounded, including Starlord and Wanda. If it isn't too much to ask, we need support. Thor returned roughly an hour ago to combat them, but they left soon after. The Quinjet is en route."

"Good. Keep me posted."

"What did she say about my sister?" Pietro asked. Yang knew he didn't have an earpiece; he probably didn't need one in most cases, but he hadn't heard what happened. She only knew because she was right next to Stark.

"Wounded. I hope everyone is alright."

Steve looked in the direction of the ruins left behind by the monster. He shook his head.

"Only time will tell."

 ** _The Quincarrier..._**

Rocket ducked underneath a chain whipping just above his head.

"Hey, lady, watch the fur! I just got it groomed last week!"

The green-haired girl pulled the chained blade back and it reattached to the revolver in her hand. She had been fighting the big guy that threw his hammer a lot and shot lightning, but he needed a little back up and Rocket was bored, so he got the girl chasing him. Now, here they were, having it out in one of the many aisles of crates onboard the carrier.

"Really? It looks like garbage," the girl snarked, and Rocket laughed mockingly.

"Me? You think _my_ hair looks like garbage?" Rocket taunted, rolling onto his back and roaring with laughter. The girl seemed puzzled.

"What's so funny, rat?" She asked with a scowl, and Rocket sat up, propping himself up by his hands.

"Oh, oh, nothing, heheheh..." Rocket chortled, trying to reduce himself to snickering, "I just thought it was freaking hilarious, the irony in that you think _my_ hair is garbage. Tell me, what color is your hair? Vomit? I think I'll just call you that from now on."

"It's Emerald," The girl snarled and opened fire with both revolvers, but Rocket was small enough that he rolled beneath a shelf and ducked behind a crate. The girl began to speak, looking around cautiously, guns aiming around the aisle.

"Damn, I wish I had some cheese, maybe you'd come out," she said, trying to lure out Rocket. He was already climbing up the shelf he was hidden behind, aiming to take her by surprise with an attack from above.

"That joke was pretty cheesy, why don't you use that?" Rocket remarked, and Emerald turned in the direction she thought he was in. She fired, but he wasn't one of the most dangerous and cunning rodents in the galaxy because he was an idiot.

He took up his position, watching the girl shoot in the complete wrong direction. He had to keep himself from laughing too hard as he lowered himself to hang from the top shelf with one hand gripping that shelf and a foot resting on the one below. He drew his quad-barreled shock rifle and took aim as it unfolded. She didn't seem to notice he was above her.

"I think I have you outsmarted, rat," the girl said, and she began climbing the shelf next to her. What was she doing? Did she think she had him—

TELEPATHIC TAMPERING DETECTED. DEFENDING.

Fooled.

His built-in HUD alerted him to the mental invasion—there were benefits to being a cyborg, after all. This girl thought she was fooling him with an illusion, it seemed. Must be Emerald thought he was seeing an illusion of herself still wandering down below.

Rocket chuckled and played along. Sometimes being a cyborg raccoon had its perks, like immunity to mind powers and crap like that.

She took aim at the raccoon from her place atop the adjacent shelf, but he knew better, of course. He wasn't fooled. He swept his gun so it was aimed down, but if he lifted up just enough, it was in line with her legs.

"You know, you're crap at this," Rocket giggled, "You are just plain awful. I've got you fooled."

"How do you know I don't have you fooled instead?"

"Because my brain can't be tricked by your little illusion."

"You sure about that?" Emerald was ready to pull the triggers, still thinking she had him beaten.

Rocket lifted his rifle and looked directly into her eyes. He smiled as her eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah."

He pulled his trigger, and he savored in the high-pitched shriek of surprise and pain as the girl was thrown from the shelf and fell to the floor below. Rocket hopped to her shelf and dove down after her.

When he landed, she was already up, but she wasn't sticking around. She bolted, holding two fingers to her ear.

She was _retreating_.

"Oh, no, you don't," Rocket bounded after her on all fours, and in response the girl whipped out one revolver and used the chain to hook and pull down crates from the shelves.

One came down and showered rations on Rocket, but he plowed on through and kept after her. Unfortunately, that blinded him to the crate of tools coming down. He leapt up and vaulted over the crate as it spilled, and he kept after the girl.

Emerald pulled down several more crates, and as much as Rocket wanted to whip out his rifle and take a shot, missing his first would mean he wouldn't get a second. He didn't dare, so he kept avoiding the different crates, until they reached the very end of the aisle, which led into the main section of the hangar. The girl whipped out her revolver and hooked the crate next to her. She went to pull it down, but this time, more resistance came with it.

Rocket was closing fast. Closer, closer, closer, until he could have taken a point blank shot—

The crate came down, dropping the full weight of its contents on top of him. He grunted with the impact.

He hurriedly scurried from beneath the pile and drew his rifle. He aimed carefully but quickly, and fired. The shot barely missed the girl and hit the door controls as she went through, slamming the door shut behind her. Rocket swore loudly and colorfully. He missed, and she escaped!

'...Rocket...need help...bridge...has...Stone...'

Gamora's voice came up in his earpiece, and he swore even more loudly. He shot the door the girl escaped through for good measure before running back toward the bridge. On the way over, roughly halfway, he had bound to the top of a pile of knocked-over crates and saw Groot, kneeling down next to that one white-haired girl, Weiss. She and Thor had been in a fight with the gray-haired kid, and Weiss was looking beyond worse for wear, even after Rocket himself and Thor drew the two goons off of her. He still had no idea where Thor was, but he figured he was probably chasing Gray-Hair.

"Groot, somebody got the Stone!" Rocket yelled and leapt onto the tree man's back before using it as a jumping pedestal. He landed on a railing, looked back, and gestured to him. "Come on, we've gotta take them out before they get away!"

Groot looked up and showed his empathetic face again. "I...am Groot!"

"She'll be fine, but nobody will be if we don't get the Stone handled fast!"

Groot looked back at the girl, who gave him a small, exhausted smile and said, "I'll be fine, go."

The tree man rose and nodded, and he and the roughneck raccoon bolted before it was too late.

 ** _The Flight Deck..._**

The door slid open, revealing the pouring rain coming down in a torrent on the asphalt.

Rocket ran out and looked across the asphalt, Groot standing behind him. Ahead, a group stood around some sort of small airship. One of them was Rocket's previous target. She, the gray-haired kid—he must have escaped from Thor—a diminutive girl with pink and brown hair, a towering man with a sword, and a ginger-haired guy in a bowler hat all stood on either side of a raven-haired woman holding a bow that glowed with great power.

The Infinity Stone. She had it in her bow, like Ronan the Batshit Crazy Juror had it in his hammer.

Not that their victim seemed to notice. Within the circle was a boy wearing a black hood and silver armor, and holding a silver sword and kite shield. He was standing in front of the airship door. Was he trying to stop them?

Wait, this was the kid Rocket remembered calling a wimp before. Jaune. Rocket supposed he was wrong now; here was this kid, standing before certain death and staring it in the eye. Jaune was saying something.

"No!"

Rocket turned briefly to see Jaune's two friends arrive. The ninja kid and the one with the big-ass hammer. They were both looking exhausted.

Raven Hair didn't care. She grabbed the boy and threw him aside, then snapped her fingers. The deck shook, and fire erupted from a pair of explosions on the other side. Rocket started sliding as the deck tilted, but Groot was far less susceptible. He rooted himself into the Tarmac and bent down to grab Rocket, who climbed up onto his back.

"Those bastards are getting away, Groot!"

"I am Groot!"

Rocket looked down further. While the villains were all climbing into the small heli, the boy was sliding down the ever-steepening slope, until he reached the edge and began to scream as he dangled over the edge. The ship was escaping into the shadows of the clouds.

"Jaune!" Ninja Kid yelled, drawing his pistols. He started running toward the edge to catch Jaune.

"Hold on, kid!" Rocket yelled as the small airship rose up and disappeared into the torrent of rain coming from above.

The falling feeling slowed.

Rocket looked back up, his heart racing as the ship tried in vain to right itself with one side's turbines disabled. It was plummeting below, and above, was the white-haired girl with the funny sword. The one Groot was taking care of. She was in the doorway.

"White!" Rocket yelled, "We've gotta keep this thing in the air somehow!"

The girl looked exhausted, but she nodded in agreement, and she concentrated as she stood on the edge of the doorway and looked down from where she was standing on the wall above, which, really, was the floor now.

Suddenly, everything seemed to fall slower, and slower, and slower, until nothing was falling, but instead the ship's port side was rising and leveling out. All around the carrier, a ring of gear-like glyphs hung in midair. Some of them were rotating in one direction, and some in the other. Somehow, they were leveling out the carrier.

The rain had stopped. Weird that it just came to a sudden halt.

Then, while Rocket was still thinking about the fact that it simply stopped, it came down again. Hard.

Rocket looked around again. Weiss was practically wheezing, on the floor, exhausted. Not-So-Wimpy Wimpy Boy was kneeling beside her trying to talk to her, flanked by Hammer Lady and Ninja Kid. The rain was soaking the place. And the valley below was now the valley around the carrier.

Shit.

" _HOLD ONTO YOUR ASSES!_ "


	18. Eternal Summer

**Hi, guys. Here's a new chapter. I'm a little tired right now, journalism is kicking my ass at the moment. On the bright side, I'm officially a journalist now: my first story just got published in the paper. Oh, and congratulations to Ruby and Sun; Baby Mogar is on the way.**

 **Not much else to say. Have a nice read!**

 ** _The Quinjet..._**

Tony continued to look down at the backpack filled with Dust crystals during the ride back to the carrier.

He felt so guilty. Normally, his fellow Avengers couldn't get through his...admittedly large wall of an ego, but Pietro did it in seconds, like everything else he did. It wasn't like him to collapse beneath the pressure of someone else's words. Maybe he was developing a more of a conscience.

He reached into the backpack and withdrew a crystal. Weird substance. The surface was like a semi-dry ice cube on moist fingertips, where it felt like it was clinging to his skin, yet it was warm. Ruby said these things were capable of changing density at will.

He turned his gaze toward the bench nearby. Yang was passed out, without a scratch or bruise but completely filthy and covered in dust and dirt. She didn't even get upset over her sister's capture. Of course, one gets tired when they go mano a mano with the Incredible Hulk, so he didn't quite blame her. Two different Asgardians tried, and one of them was down and out for the rest of the battle, so ten points to Yang for even surviving. The blonde bruiser was sleeping leaned on the shoulder of Ruby's redheaded friend with the freckles and floating swords. Those things are freaking cool, he thought to himself.

"So, Freckles," Tony began, slinging the backpack over his shoulder with the zipper shut tight, "How'd you make those big swords work? Neurotransmitters and micro-repulsors? Magic? Telekinesis? Please, tell me it was something excessively simple, like telepathically-coordinated micro-thrusters attached to the ends of Vibranium-edged swords."

The girl looked up at him. She had shockingly green eyes. Damn, those eyes are green. Those had to be contacts. There was no way those were real.

"Salutations," the girl whispered loudly at about the same volume as normal speech, "My name is Penny. What's your name?"

"Tony."

"Salutations, Tony!" Penny smiled, waving at him. She was rather bubbly for a girl who just fought a giant metal octopus and then suffered an awful defeat alongside extra-Remnantial-he made that word up and he liked it-beings she didn't even know.

"You gonna answer my question?" Tony asked, "Or are you just gonna say hi to me multiple times and dance around it?"

Penny shrugged. "I don't know how they work." This was followed by a soft hiccup. Tony raised an eyebrow but ignored it.

"So you use a weapon you don't understand?" Tony wondered aloud, "How do you know how to fix them if they break?"

"I just have my father fix them. He's good with weapons." Another hiccup. How does she get hiccups after a fight? Wasn't she scared enough to drive them off?

"Are you and Ruby cousins or something?" Tony asked the girl. He glanced out the cockpit and simply saw an expanse of blackened clouds. He was glad not to be flying in them himself-his suit could take it, but his newer suits didn't have any insulation on them, so he would be fried wearing his Mark IIIL. Not that it was functional, obviously.

"Nope!" Penny answered cheerfully, but slowly shifted into a more glum tone, "I'm just her friend! But I don't know what to do now. She's gone. I don't know where she went."

Penny looked upset now, an expression that didn't seem to fit her face quite right. Yang shifted a little in her seat beside Penny as if in agreement.

"Well, we'll find that out won't we?" Tony said reassuringly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Clint interjected from his place at the pilot seat. Everyone turned to look at what he was talking about. A collective, uneasy silence fell over the passengers of the Quinjet.

It wasn't the fact that the Quincarrier wasn't in the proper place in the sky, or the fact it was damaged possibly beyond repair. It was the fact that it wasn't in the sky at all.

In the valley below where the airship once resided, smoldering, smoking ruins lay among the trees beside a large lake in the valley itself.

"Oh, my god..."

Tony had no idea who said that, but he didn't care. The Quincarrier was down. Hard. Which meant...

"The hijackers got away."

Steve said the words before anyone else could, but it was what most of them were thinking. He looked over at the remaining Avengers with the ability to fly.

"Sam, Rhodey, Vision, get down there and check it out while Clint gets us settled. Everyone else...get ready to handle any possible wounded."

Tony continued to stare even as the three flying Avengers departed.

"What happened?" Pietro asked rhetorically. He obviously didn't expect an answer.

"Thanos used that monster as a diversion," Tony answered anyway. He didn't care. "He played us, made us ignore his little traitor, and we fell for it. We should have let the planet's military handle the monster."

"And we were just gonna stand around and watch innocent people die?" Steve whipped around, scowling. "We did what we could."

"And it wasn't enough."

This time, it was Natasha who intervened. "Are you guys just going to fight about every little thing? We have wounded and our only way back to Earth just got blown up, so in case you two didn't notice, we have work to do."

Tony opened his mouth, and Natasha shot him a look. He shut up.

The Quinjet's landing gear made contact with the dirt. The ramp slid down.

"C'mon," Clint said, standing up, "Let's get off our asses here and go."

 ** _Inside the Carrier..._**

The outside of the ship was nothing compared to the inside.

The shelves and aisles filled to the brim with supplies and such were scattered across the floor of the hangar, large sections of the floor charred or ripped up or just crumpled. Fires burned every few dozen feet. Mountains of tools were spilled in certain sections, and in some spots, the ceiling caved or even collapsed or broke off to rest on what was left of the floor. Some of the lights flickered, but none functioned completely. The hangar was the epitome of chaos.

"Where is everyone?" Yang asked, looking around more still, but she saw nobody. Not even Rhodey, Vision, or Sam. Not a single person walked among the rubble.

"Friday?" Tony said as the group entered the scrap heap, "You still there?"

Yang didn't hear a response, but neither did he, apparently, because he sighed and crossed his arms. "Damn it."

"Everybody spread out and look for the others," Steve ordered, and everybody split up. Yang watched Tony and Steve head off toward the bridge. She followed them; if the Stone was mean to be protected, Weiss would likely be there. Yang had to find her; Weiss was the only teammate Yang had that she was sure of anymore. They reached the bridge access corridor and stopped.

"Cap, something's up."

"Yeah, I figured," Steve said, drawing his shield. Yang clenched her fists. Tony...did nothing but retreat behind the blonde brawler.

The trio walked down the hallway and stopped just before the bridge. Rubble was blocking the doorway. It looked as if it were deliberately placed there and seemed warped, like it had been bent by something first.

"Wanda must be inside," Steve said, and Yang remembered Pietro's sister. The two spoke with a remarkable accent.

"Let's hope she got the Stone," Tony replied. The captain and the blonde both nodded in agreement.

But something else was odd about the doorway. Parallel to it was a hole in the opposite wall, and through it, another hole, and another, and another, until several rooms each had a pair of holes in it, all of them aligned with the bridge.

"What do you suppose made those holes?" Tony asked.

"I don't know, but I think I have a couple of ideas."

"The Stone."

The two Avengers looked at Yang. She was staring at the hole now, taking on a newly serious tone.

"I can feel the energy left over. It feels like the temple did, before we found the Stone. It hurts a little. Something happened."

She turned to the doorway. She eyed it and approached. "Stand back."

The two men backed away, and Yang punched each fist through the rubble wall. Instead of breaking it, she grunted, then roared as she tore it open, leaving a just-barely wide enough entrance for the three of them. She walked in and stopped in her tracks, panting.

Of the three women inside, the least wounded was Gamora. She lay unconscious on the ground, splayed out in an awkward pose. Pyrrha...was not as lucky as that. She was unconscious but paper white, lying in a pool of blood with her left arm barely attached after having been flayed open by something. But Wanda...

"Wanda," Tony gasped as he walked inside. He ran up and knelt beside her. She lay with a perfectly circular hole blasted through the center of her chest. Yang just looked on in a combination of horror and exhaustion while the dying telepath struggled to breath. Steve ran past and joined the inventor by the girl's side. There was no color in her face.

Steve lifted two fingers to his ear. "Pietro, get to the bridge. Wanda's down."

If it weren't for how fast he was, Yang would have thought Pietro was right outside for how quickly he arrived. He had an expression of panic on his face as he bound over a large chunk of the ceiling that had fallen and joined his allies by his twin's side. He barely acknowledged the hole in her chest.

"Wanda, sister, sister," Pietro leaned over his flesh and blood and with a trembling hand touched the side of her head. He knelt and picked her up to part her hair from her face.

"Pietro...I'm sorry..." Wanda rasped, smiling feebly.

"No, no, please, shhhh," Pietro hushed her, shaking his head, "Save your strength."

Wanda turned her head back and forth, as if she were shaking it but was too weak to do so. "I'm going to see mother and father. Don't worry."

"No, please," Pietro whined, "Please don't leave me. Please. You're all I have left."

Yang felt her own eyes welling up watching the scene, and she heard numerous other sets of footsteps entering the bridge as well. The silver speedster continued to plead with the dying Maximoff to stay with him, but a wound like that...

"I am going...to die...Pietro," Wanda said, accepting the reality even as her remaining breaths were numbered. "Please...stop...Thanos..."

"No..." Pietro shook his head, his voice cracking, "I can't be the only one left. Please. Please...you can't leave me here..."

Wanda reached up and touched his cheek. She gave him a weak smile. She whispered something in some other language. A tear fell from Pietro's eye.

The scarlet witch drew her last breath, and then one Maximoff remained.

Pietro just let loose after that. He began to cry, hugging the lifeless body of the girl he shared everything with and whom left the world with everything he had. He wept, gritted his teeth and tightened his fists until his palms started to bleed. Or, perhaps, it was his sister's blood.

This was too much. It spurred a worry in Yang that her own sister could very well suffer the same fate. She turned and walked out before she could break down on her own. A hand clasped her shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going?" Captain Rogers asked, and for the first time, he looked exhausted, aged.

Yang shot a similar look back at him. "To find somewhere I can think things over."

Rogers was about to say something but he held it back, and Yang shook his hand off her shoulder to walk out of the bridge.

 ** _Somewhere Unknown..._**

The pain had dulled in the shadows. The darkness of unconsciousness had given way to the darkness of shadows.

Of course, Ruby had no idea where she was. She was in a dark room that was apparently massive. She was disoriented. Her abdomen hurt. So did her arm.

Well, her stump of a shoulder did. She wasn't quite lucid until now, but she knew she couldn't feel her arm. She checked the wound there with her other hand. Nothing was there, not even her shoulder. She was lucky the blast didn't take her neck with it.

Ruby looked around. Nothing. Blackness was her only company. She struggled to stand up using her only hand and staggered around before falling forward again and having to catch herself with her arm. She tried to remember what happened as she fought back the tears accompanying the excruciating pain in her stomach, chest, and everything that should have been attached.

Thanos, holding her Crescent Rose. The scythe, glowing with the green energy of the other Infinity Stone. Herself leaping at Thanos in a fit of rage. And then, so much pain she blacked out.

It must have been how she lost her limb. Thanos shot her, but the gutshot... How did she get that? Was that her Rosy, too? Was the blast that powerful? Either way, both healed thanks to her Aura, or at least sealed her wounds. Her gutshot would take hours to heal. Her chest would eventually, as well. Her lost limb...that wouldn't heal.

Ruby rolled over and something hit the hard metal floor. It bounced by her hand and brushed against her skin, giving off a sort of warm mist. It glowed a very faint light blue.

The Dust. She remembered it now; before she and Pietro had acted as the distraction for the monster, she had filled up a bag to the brim with Dust for Tony, but she didn't have enough space, so she put some in the pocket underneath her skirt. She put the crystal back inside the pocket and patted it to make sure it would stay. It could be useful.

 _HIISSSSSSS_...

Ruby jumped and turned, and a headache erupted behind her eyes. Concussion. Must have been. She hit her head pretty hard during the chase. It was a wonder how lucid she was, what with blood loss and head trauma.

A door opened with searing white light pouring into the room, but Ruby's vision went blurry. She tried to cover her eyes with her one hand, but it did nothing. Two lumbering figures entered the room and they began to...make noises. It must have been some other alien speech, and then it was followed with a much more human-sounding, "He'll have both of your heads if she gets further injured. I will, too. Get her out of here and to the throne room."

Ruby found herself being lifted and then slung over something, and then she felt the bouncing that came with being carried somewhere else. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the blinding white that filled the...corridor? She couldn't make out whatever it was she was being carried through, but it wasn't easy on her eyes, so she closed them.

"Aw, don't you just look so helpless?"

Ruby peeked and squinted at the familiar voice. "Bla...Blake...? Is that you?" Her own throat hurt. Her jaw was painful.

There she was, in all of her Faunus glory. Blake Belladonna, the B of Team RWBY, Ruby's friend...and a traitor.

"That's me. Is something wrong?"

"Why...why did you do it?"

The bouncing stopped as Blake said, "Hold up! Put her down."

The thing holding her—a tall, gangly creature with gray skin and wearing a strange circlet with a mask attached to it over its face with one arm slipped through a massive cannon-like object—set her down and lifted its cannon toward her. Like she was a threat.

"You want to know why?" Blake said, sitting down across from her former friend, "Because you guys were all idiots to think that we could stop Thanos from conquering Remnant. But if we join him, we could become gods beneath him. We would become so powerful that we could wipe out planets. Maybe we could build up our strength and overthrow the Mad Titan. Think about it."

"How could you, Blake? How could you just...turn on your friends like that?!" Ruby sat forward and tried to stand up so she could get in the traitor's face, but a loud whirring sound indicated that the two big aliens were priming their weapons. She lowered back down, but she was angry.

Blake just grinned, and suddenly, when she blinked, her eyes were no longer golden amber. One was brown, the other was pink, and both of them were now set in a face that reflected only mischief and madness.

Ruby couldn't believe her eyes. It was the girl from the underpass. From the train. The one Yang fought with and then disappeared. Her. The one with the pink parasol. Her only thought flitted through her bruised mind.

 _'I should have known.'_

Neo stood up, returning to her original, excessively short form, her pink and brown hair cascading over her shoulders. She smirked in amusement.

"You played us like a fiddle," Ruby continued to look up into her adversary's face and scowled, pressure building in her skull. It hurt a little. Concussion side effect. "What did you do with the real Blake?"

Neo chuckled. "You'll be happy to know she was unconscious in the tunnels of your ship, but now, who can say? Cinder dropped your ship like a sack of severed heads. It just fell. Hilarious, really. I was giggling up a storm."

Ruby felt the pressure increasing, but she didn't care. She lashed out—a feat of great effort and pain—and managed to get the heel of one of her stiletto boots to smash into Neo's teeth before she was overwhelmed by a burning sensation that followed the sound of one of the aliens' guns going off. She was hunched over on the ground before she knew it. The pressure was bad. Her head hurt terribly.

"What are you doing?! You're going to kill her!" Neo turned to one of the aliens and scolded him, but Ruby staggered to her feet and forced herself to shamble toward them. Her belly skin felt like it was on fire. Neo turned and looked at her. Terror filled her expression.

"Take her. Now. Before she explodes."

Ruby refused to allow the alien to carry her. She was furious now, not to mention in agony, but through her headache she was still wise and coherent enough to realize a death wish is not what she needed right now.

The four of them continued to navigate the maze of corridors and halls, Ruby all the while taking pained glances back at Neo, who for the first time was not smug. Ruby was the one in the most pain here, but she was satisfied with kicking Neo's teeth in. It was nice, seeing the little manipulator bleeding from the mouth.

Suddenly, a massive white door came into view, and Neo took a step forward. She turned her little parasol over and pulled on the loop, and a _SSSSHHHHHWING!_ accompanied the thin blade she drew. She jerked her head toward the door, and the two of them left the aliens behind, whatever they were. They approached the door and two more aliens appeared from their places flanking it. They pulled the door open and revealed another, smaller corridor filled with the aliens. Neo shoved Ruby in the back and the two continued inside, further, further, further, until they reached one more pair of doors. Neo stopped there.

"Inside. Now." The shorter girl said sternly.

Ruby turned and tried her best to channel Yang—that is to say, she was trying her hardest to appear confident and relaxed. It wasn't working, what with her being crippled, but still, she tried. Having one arm missing ruined the effect, too. It wasn't like Yang of all people would lose an arm. "Is the great Neo too chicken to go inside?" She winced.

"More like too smart," Neo said, "I wouldn't go in there if it meant I got all of the lien in the world."

Neo then blinked out of existence, leaving Ruby alone, and then the aliens on either side of her shoved the door open and shoved her through. They slammed it behind her.

Ruby, having received a concussion, had poor balance and she failed to stay on her feet, and her sore joints didn't help. She gasped when she felt something shoot searing pain through her arm and brain, and she forced herself to her feet once again.

She was standing on a long, cracked chunk of rock that just floated in space. She had no idea how she got there, nor where she was. Along this path, small, totem-like objects stood guard, depicting a woman of great beauty but her face cracked like shattered glass, with a hive-like haircut and a set of small ponytails branching off of the bottom of it. Farther and farther the path traveled, until, right at the end, was him.

The Mad Titan rose from his spot on his knees, and he turned slowly and deliberately. He was a malevolent force, indeed, with his towering, broad physique and daunting armor. A golden gauntlet on one hand gleamed in some distant light. It had one gemstone socketed on the back of the hand.

Infinity Stone. The last one. Thanos already _had_ a Stone. Why did he need the Soul Stone?

Ruby found herself trying to devise a plan. She remembered when Gamora explained her past before. How Thanos turned her into a weapon. Would he do the same to her? Could he? She couldn't stomach the thought. She needed to get the Stones away from him.

The Dust! It made anything liquefy on contact. If she could just hit the gauntlet with the crystal, she could grab the Infinity Stones...

It was then that Ruby noticed something hanging from Thanos's hip. Her Crescent Rose. She had to get that just because it was her Rosy. She never left it behind. She had to get it. But how?

"Ah, yes, the young mortal who dared to stand against Death's betrothed," Thanos's bravado echoed across the seemingly infinite cosmos, but given there was oxygen, it wasn't real. "The silver-eyed daughter of Summer. 'Twas a wonder I never found you."

"Huh...?" Ruby grunted, staggering forward. She fell to one knee and forced herself back to her feet. Her Aura was trying hard to keep her alive and conscious, but it was struggling, what with a gutshot from some unknown source, a severed limb, and scorch marks on her chest from the alien blaster. Even with the Soul Stone's residual energy she was barely able to stand.

"Some might say I'm a hunter of sorts myself," Thanos said, reaching the brunette and towering over her at twice her height, "I do not dally in the hunt, however. My sport is the kill. Summer was interesting prey, I will say, though unfortunately I was not the one to kill her."

"What are...you talking...about...?" Ruby coughed, hurting herself.

"Never mind that, perhaps I may explain later," Thanos chuckled, but then adopted a serious expression. "Cinder Fall."

Behind Thanos, the tall, slim but curvy figure of Cinder Fall strutted into view, but her eyes glowed orange and the whites of her eyes were black. She held her bow, but it had a glowing orange eye. The Soul Stone.

No. He had the Stone. They failed. The Avengers, the Guardians, Team RWBY and JNPR, all failed. This was it.

"The Soul Stone."

Cinder smiled, leering at Ruby, whose face reflected grim acceptance of her fate, and offered the Stone. Thanos shook his head.

"You mortals of Remnant are attuned to this Stone, so it will not hurt you. Place the gem in one of the sockets on my gauntlet; Stones you are unaccustomed to require a channel to utilize them."

A channel. Meaning, if Ruby was going to grab that other Stone, she would require Crescent Rose regardless just so the other Stone wouldn't kill her.

Cinder nodded and the Mad Titan offered his gauntlet. She held the Soul Stone over the middle knuckle and it seemed to magnetically attach there. Ruby felt a faint pulse and an ache rattled her bones for a moment before subsiding. Her headache grew further t the point where the edges of her version were beginning to blur.

"Strange. The Stone appears to be weakened. Perhaps because of our young Omega's allies."

Thanos looked at Ruby with a malicious grin—not that he had made any other expression since she first saw the mad murderer. Cinder looked at her with now-normal but still equally power-hungry eyes.

"Am I the Omega?" Ruby asked, trying to muster her strength again.

"Yes, foolish child," Thanos lifted his gauntlet and showed her the back of his fist. The two Stones taunted her with their proximity. "Perhaps you know not what an Omega is, however."

He turned and swept his hand across the stars all around them. "Omegas are genetic hybrids—abominations, created through the reproduction of a member of any species with a member of my own. Titanian Eternals. For the most part, we resembled humans such as you. But in my case, my mistress Death sought to bring about change and that which she was named for—death. I was born as a mutant of my race—much as you were, child. You and I are both Omegas."

"What are you talking about? I don't look anything like you. I'm nothing like you."

"My mistress found me at a young age, and I was made to destroy my world for her with nuclear fire. I decimated most of my home world of Titan's population, but few survived. The remaining Eternals fled into the darkness of space to escape Death, but none evade my mistress forever."

"One of those remaining Eternals was your mother. In fact, a few Eternals fled to your world—after all, there was civilization here, and chose to help the remains, the Remnants of humanity, to survive. How noble."

Ruby felt the pulse again, and she recognized the feeling from before, when she and Blake rushed to Yang and Weiss before Tony and the Avengers were their allies. The Stone was calling for help, but Ruby needed time to think of a plan. Stall him, she thought to herself while her headache increased. She didn't know what he was planning for her, but she knew it wasn't good.

"Why should I believe you? My parents are from Remnant, not...not some other planet."

"That is why you are an Omega," Thanos replied, looking smug but not realizing she was brainstorming plans, "You are the child of your native father, and your alien mother. I hunted her, but alas, she eluded me. Mistress Death asked me to kill my race, save for myself; you can imagine how disappointed I was to see she was killed here, overwhelmed by your monsters."

Thanos walked over to his throne and rested his hand on one of the arms before picking up the Crescent Rose, which unfolded. He twirled the weapon between his fingers and laughed.

"Had it not been for your mother's blood, I would wonder how you can so swiftly and efficiently wield a weapon such as this, and how you have survived such wounds as yours. I have respect for your choice of weapon—Mistress Death herself employs a scythe. Perhaps she will take a liking to you once I have taken your power."

"You can't take someone's Semblance," Ruby said, "It's part of them. You can't take their soul."

"You seem to think I speak of your father's blood," Thanos shook his head, "No. I will not take your soul. I will take the power granted to you by your mother."

"I don't have any power like that," Ruby denied the statement, but Thanos laughed again.

"That is because your powers will not surface until you have come of age. Simply a part of the Eternal physiology. Perhaps because you age faster, your powers will surface sooner. But I will not allow such a thing to come to pass."

He moved toward Ruby and forcefully—and painfully—gripped her throat with his gauntleted hand and lifted her air. She could barely breathe, finding herself trapped as her one hand tried to pry open the armored fingers.

And exactly where she needed to be, she realized.

"I plan to extract your powers and grant them to Cinder Fall, as a gift for her loyal service to me and a trade for the Infinity Stone."

Ruby coughed, hurting herself, and she kicked out at Thanos while her vision blackened. He laughed and slammed her into the ground, then held the blade of her own weapon against her throat. His face drew close to hers.

"Foolish child. But, you will make an excellent addition to my sisterhood of daughters. Maybe a fine replacement for Gamora, even. It should be interesting with a daughter of my own species."

"...you...wish..." Ruby strained, and she brandished the Dust Crystal. Thanos didn't know what it was. Cinder, however, knew exactly what it was.

" _NO_!" Cinder shrieked, but Ruby went ahead anyway. She smashed it into the golden gauntlet as hard as she could and the crystal shattered, and before she knew it, the metal was melting around her hand and dripping onto her skirt.

"What...?" Thanos was confused now, and he slackened his grip. Ruby took the opportunity to kick Thanos in the face, and for once, he actually seemed hurt, or at least surprised. He dropped the Crescent Rose and both of the Infinity Stones as he recoiled.

Cinder reacted to the scene unfolding now, but Ruby was up and lifting her scythe with one hand. She whirled with titanic effort and hit the woman as hard as she could, and the archer flew into Thanos and toppled the Eternal.

Ruby dropped her scythe and scooped up the Soul Stone, placing it in her hidden pocket where the Dust Crystal had been. She bent to pick up the other Stone when she felt her Aura flare up to protect her, but it was more or less futile.

Even as her fingers closed around the Stone, Ruby felt a pain unlike any she had before. It felt like every atom in her body was rupturing simultaneously. She screamed as the energy from the Stone filled her body, and she looked at the Crescent Rose. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as a vortex of energy formed around her. Her headache was beyond migraine level, but she could see a white barrier forming between her skin and the Stone. Images flashed through her head of what seemed like an infinite number of things as she staggered to her scythe.

" _YOU WILL NOT KEEP MY POWER FROM ME!_ "

The shriek came from Cinder, who was running at her at top speed, blades drawn behind her. Ruby turned her gaze to the archer.

Her headache hit her hard one last time. Energy flowed within her and felt as if it were blasting from her eyes. It felt as if it was filling her brain, even before she slammed her eyes shut, screamed, and opened them, and then Cinder no longer ran at her, but rather lay singed near Thanos. She forced herself to keep the power under control and stopped despite titanic effort. Her skin felt hot.

An image entered Ruby's mind of a tall, blue-skinned man holding a violet Stone and a warhammer. He slammed the two together as the Stone ripped him apart, and then, the man was harnessing the energy. The Kree warlord, Ronan the Accuser. She had no idea how she knew this, but her weapon was her only chance now.

The circular hole in the head of her scythe was the only place she could think of where the Stone would fit and stay. After several seconds that felt like hours of her staggering toward the end of her scythe, she drew her arm back, yelled a battle cry, and slammed the Stone into the hole. It socketed perfectly. Green lines spidered along its length and the edge of the blade flashed green.

Ruby took labored breaths as the energy left her body, and then she used her one hand to pick up the scythe with great effort. A comfortable, rhythmic hum filled her body as the Stone, the Reality Stone, granted her its boon. She hefted the thing onto her shoulder, grimacing.

"Impossible," Thanos said as he rose to face off against her. "You cannot possibly wield the Reality Stone. You are mortal."

Ruby coughed but drew up her remaining willpower, feeling her strength returning in a last-ditch effort to preserve her fading consciousness.

She felt powerful now. More powerful than she ever had before. But she was at a disadvantage. She couldn't stand up against two highly trained opponents when she had a handicap, even if she did hold two Infinity Stones and whatever power it was that just awakened inside of her.

Her head was just filled with knowledge of the Reality Stone. Perhaps she could put that to use. After all, she could still use her scythe with one hand.

Energy coursed through her, filling both her and her weapon, and she knew how to use it, but didn't know how she knew. She held out the Crescent Rose to her side and turned it, then sliced at the air behind her. A sort of rift opened where her blade swiped, and she could see something on the other side. Cloudy images of buildings. It was worth a shot.

"The transition through that portal will kill you, Rose," Thanos said, addressing her by name for the first time. He was walking toward her.

"Better than you having the Stones."

"If that doesn't kill you..."

Thanos broke into a dead sprint toward her, barreling at her like a truck.

"Then I will!"

Ruby had no choice. She girded her body and threw herself at the portal, as much as it hurt. She passed through it, and then she was in the cold, open air of a wintry morning in the middle of...wherever she was.

Ruby spun and swiped her scythe again like she was cutting the portal in half. It closed, cutting herself off from the Mad Titan before he could reach her.

She sighed, frost forming a cloud of condensation in front of her face. She was out. She was safe. For now.

Ruby was drained. She was in the red, bloodstained snow, surrounded by fences and trees. She was alone. She was lost. She was wounded, possibly mortally. And with her, she had two Infinity Stones, a strange new power, a lost limb, and no idea where she ended up.

Vision fading, Ruby succumbed to the exhaustion and exertion soon enough, and she collapsed in the snow.

 ** _Meanwhile..._**

Cinder watched with fury as Ruby Rose disappeared into the portal with both Infinity Stones in tow, not bothering to acknowledge the charred flesh on her shoulder.

The portal closed as Thanos barreled at it, but alas the Mad Titan was too late. Ruby had disappeared. Thanos roared a string of alien curses and turned to look at the puddle that was his gauntlet.

"What will we do now?" Cinder asked, pushing herself off the stone and facing the angry giant.

"I will issue the order to have the planet destroyed," Thanos said, "Their precious world surely isn't worth two Stones."

"But it is Ruby that holds the Stones," Cinder asked, "How would the destruction of Earth affect her?"

"You thought I was talking about Earth."

Cinder forced herself to remain serene. "Surely you don't consider destroying Remnant. Should Ruby return, the Stones will still be lost. She will die and they will remain with her."

"Do I detect compassion in your voice, Cinder Fall?" Thanos glared, narrowing his eyes. "Perhaps the power of an Eternal isn't worth the lives you spurn after all."

Cinder shook her head hastily. "No, Thanos. I meant nothing by it."

"Good. Be ready for battle two days from now. Have Taurus ready his forces. By sunrise on that day, Remnant burns."

Cinder watched as Thanos walked to his throne room door. She was curious now, and rightfully so.

"Was that true what you told Ruby? About her mother?"

The Mad Titan cocked his head slightly. "Yes. Her power was energy projection. The Rose's power surfaced just now. Be wary. She is now one of the most deadly opponents we will face."

Thanos walked through the door and left the throne room, leaving Cinder behind to ponder.


End file.
